Orthopedic Foot Surgeons in St. Louis and Chesterfield

Numerous types of healthcare providers evaluate and treat conditions of the feet. These include podiatrists, orthopedic foot and ankle surgeons, primary care physicians, and physical therapists.

Although podiatrists and orthopedic surgeons treat many of the same conditions, their training is different. There is essentially a lot of overlap in treatments, but orthopedic foot and ankle surgeons point out that they are able to treat the patient as a whole, not just form the ankle down.

What is the difference between orthopedic surgery and podiatry?  There are more commonalities than there are differences.  Both are medical and surgical specialties, and treated by virtually all medical insurance companies and government entities as such.  Its practitioners attended medical school and residency, and go through a licensure and board certification process.  Orthopedic surgeons and podiatrists work side by side in hospitals and in the same group practices.

The main difference lies in the body systems they treat.  Orthopedic surgeons are concerned with bones, muscles, ligaments and joints throughout the body.  They are bone and joint doctors and surgeons. Podiatrists are foot and ankle doctors and surgeons.  As such, there are overlaps between the two.  Both are concerned with bones, muscles, ligaments and joints in the foot.

Outside of this, orthopedic surgeons are concerned with other areas of the body, including knees, hips, spine.  Podiatrists are concerned with other organ systems in the foot and ankle, including the skin, blood vessels and nerves.  Podiatrists are the orthopedic surgeons, plastic surgeons, neurosurgeons, dermatologists of the foot and ankle.

Podiatrists are differentiated physicians.  They attend special medical schools and residencies.  Medical students going into this field know from day one that they will be physicians and surgeons of the foot and ankle.  Their curriculum and course of study is geared toward that end.  So even though an orthopedic surgeon may have some experience or training in the foot and ankle, it does not compare in terms of commitment and depth of training in the foot and ankle, all systems, that a podiatrist receives over many years of schooling, residency and fellowship.

It’s important to note that a podiatrist can also be a comprehensive foot and ankle physician and orthopedic surgeon and is then essentially a bone and joint surgeon for all body parts.

Contact Our Doctors Today

St. Louis based podiatrist and orthopedic foot surgeon Dr. Michael Horwitz can assist you with the whole array of treatments and surgeries relating to feet. Dr. Horwitz is Board Certified by the American Board of Foot and Ankle Surgeons. He is a Fellow of the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons, Master Surgeon and Instructor for GraMedica International. Dr. Horwitz has served as the Residency Director of DePaul Surgical Residency Program. Currently he is the Director of MidCounty Surgery Center, a AAAHC certified surgery center. To schedule an appointment, call Feet For Life at 314-207-7280

St. Louis and Chesterfield based Dr. Vincent Staschiak is Board Certified by American Board of Foot and Ankle Surgeons. He is also certified in Ankle Arthroscopy. Dr. Staschiak is a Master Surgeon for Gramedica International Flatfoot correction and certified Wound care specialist. To schedule an appointment, call Feet For Life at 314-207-7280