Dennis Gooch, Coal Valley, has to run around quite a bit when he’s flying one of the 40 or so radio-controlled airplanes in his collection. The long-time member of the Skyraiders Radio Control Flying Club always had a flat foot, but it collapsed over the last five years.
“I had a lot of foot pain,” says Gooch, “when I tried to walk or tried to mow.” The pain grew so intense that Gooch couldn’t fly his planes any longer. And as the pain grew worse, Gooch’s foot turned out and made his gait awkward.
Tuvi Mendel, M.D., Orthopaedic Specialists, put his fellowship training and experience to work for Gooch. As the head of OS’s Foot and Ankle Center, Dr. Mendel offers a variety of procedures ranging from joint replacements to minimally-invasive surgeries.
Dr. Mendel earned both his undergraduate and medical degrees from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, LA and following his internship and residency in orthopaedic surgery at the University of Michigan, he completed a fellowship in foot and ankle surgery with Roger Mann, MD in San Francisco, CA.
“Dr. Mendel was very intelligent,” recalls Gooch. “He knew exactly what was going on.” The flat foot reconstruction surgery Dr. Mendel performed involved lengthening a tendon on the right side of Gooch’s foot, among other advance techniques.
Gooch, who is an electronic technician, spent four days in the hospital after his knee replacement surgery several years ago. Yet his experience at Mississippi Valley Surgery Center was quite different. “I was terrified of the procedure, but before I knew it, I was home. I went in at 9:30 a.m. and was home by 2:00 that afternoon,” says Gooch. “I do prefer being home right away.”
After five years of pain and putting off treatment, Gooch was back in shoes by the beginning of February. “That was a great relief,” he says. “I will be ready to get back to airplaning.”
You may want to see a specialist
If your feet tire easily or become painful after prolonged standing, you may want to see a foot and ankle specialists who can discuss your pain with you and help determine an approach for successfully addressing it. You can receive a free referral to a trained orthopaedist by calling the MVHNews Patient Advocate at (563) 344-6653 or by using our online form to send her an email request.
For other stories related to this subject, check out the following:
- Dr. Mendel and the team at Orthopaedic Specialists have provided additional information about the symptoms and possible treatments for Flat Feet on their website.
- Wondering if you have flat feet? There are some ways for you to check the arch of your foot on your own.
