Peripheral Artery Disease checks performed by Dr. Davis
3/3/2022
OATMAN -- Dr. Michael Davis would have enjoyed a simple country drive on Saturday morning. Instead, he went to Oatman to do the old-time doctor thing, seeing patients where they live.
The Little White Church of Oatman was transformed into an exam room with Davis taking pulses and pressures, checking the temperature and skin color in patients’ legs and feet and asking questions about risk factors for peripheral artery disease (PAD).
As a vascular surgeon at Western Arizona Regional Medical Center, Dr. Davis had noticed a pattern of patients from the more rural parts of Mohave County who were delaying care of their circulatory system, sometimes to the point of risking amputation of toes or feet. Realizing there was a lack of medical care available in the Oatman area; Davis worked with local merchant Brad Blake to organize a free screening event for PAD.
“People can get into trouble when they are not aware of bad foot problems,” Dr. Davis said. “If we can catch this disease early we save people from having to have amputations.”
According to the American Heart Association, peripheral artery disease is caused by atherosclerosis - a buildup of plaque in the walls of blood vessels, which can eventually lead to decreased or completely blocked blood flow to the arms and legs.
Problems often begin with a wound on the foot or toes. If the tissues of the feet and toes cannot get the oxygen and nutrients they need to stay healthy, then a wound can’t heal.
“An open wound on the foot or toes can become infected or if it goes a long time without healing and without good blood flow it can actually turn black, which is called gangrene. If the infection gets into the bone you have to have parts of your foot amputated. If the infection gets into too much of your foot, then your foot has to be amputated below the knee. So that is the condition we are trying to prevent. We don’t want to do any amputations if we can help it.”
Many people do not know they have a wound on their foot because they have neuropathy, a condition that can cause a lack of feeling in the feet. Neuropathy can be caused by poor blood flow, diabetes, or sometimes old age.
To be sure there are no wounds that need to be cared for or infections brewing, checking one’s feet twice a day is crucial for people with diabetes or neuropathy of any sort, according to Davis.
“Other reasons this can happen is that someone is just not taking care of themselves, or they may not have support from other people, or insurance, or the desire to go down into the city to get checked out. So for all of those reasons, we are here today to try and help folks get ahold of those conditions before they do real harm,” he said.
Preventing PAD begins with a low fat, healthy diet and regular exercise and quitting smoking. But most importantly, do not delay care.
“If you have a wound that is not healing, you need to see a doctor. If you get pain in your legs when you are walking more than a few hundred feet in the calf or the foot, then you need to see a doctor about your blood vessels,. If you have pain in your legs at night that won’t go away until you hang your legs over the side of the bed, then you need to see a doctor.”
Davis and his staff from Western Arizona Vascular Health screened 18 patients in Oatman on Saturday, April 17. To see the doctor in his office, appointments can be made by calling (928) 704-7166. The office is located at 2744 Silver Creek Road.
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