Health & Fitness
Evergreen Park podiatrist one of few in Chicago area to offer EPAT therapy
Evergreen Park podiatrist Bela Pandit, DPM, now offers a method that speeds recovery after many common foot surgeries.
Last fall, sales and marketing professional Al Bennett experienced excruciating foot pain that would not respond to medication. When he examined his foot, he noticed a strange growth but could not recall any recent injury that might have created it. A relative from Chicago’s south suburbs referred him to Dr. Bela Pandit of Pandit Foot and Ankle Clinic in Evergreen Park for treatment.
Dr. Pandit diagnosed the Michigan City, Ind. resident with a plantar fibroma and recommended surgery.
“He had an aggressive plantar fibroma which was buried partially under muscle,” said Dr. Pandit. She had to partially separate that muscle in order to remove his mass which extended his recovery time.
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Fortunately for Bennett, Dr. Pandit was able to offer him a new post-surgical therapy that can speed up recovery time. EPAT, or Extracorporeal Pulse Activation treatment, uses pressure waves delivered by a hand-held applicator that is moved over the affected area. EPAT is manufactured by the CuraMedix company from Lincoln, R.I.
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According to Dr. Pandit, EPAT uses sound waves to break up adhesive scar tissue and minimize scarring. It causes temporary inflammation to the area which your body responds to by sending more cells that promote healing, creating a more natural healing process without medication and fewer side effects.
Typical treatments take between 5 and 10 minutes and are usually painless, requiring no anesthetic. Dr. Pandit recommends three to four treatments to achieve ideal healing.
In most of the patients Dr. Pandit has used EPAT for, more than 80 percent report to be pain free after treatment and many can resume regular physical activity much more quickly compared with more conservative post-surgical therapy, she said.
For Bennett, there were several advantages to using EPAT too.
“The scar tissue from the surgery is not nearly as bad and I noticed that it went away faster than I thought and I was able to resume my work outs faster after I started EPAT,” he said.
For Dr. Pandit, there was another key difference.
“Because Al is a diabetic, we would expect his stitches to heal in six weeks after surgery but because we used EPAT, we probably cut his healing time in half,” Pandit said.
Bennett has been back at work for months and has resumed his regular work outs, too.
