“Flat feet are typically caused by a bone inside the foot that is hypermobile and comes out of alignment. It’s called the talus bone. If you use the analogy of a stone bridge, you have stones that come up to the center of the bridge, and you pluck out that middle stone, then the bridge collapses. Well, essentially, in the foot, the talus bone, which is inside the ankle joint, acts like that stone bridge and that center stone. Typically what happens with a flat foot is that the talus bone migrates forward on ambulation. So when a person steps down and puts their full weight, the talus moves forward, which then causes the mid-foot to unlock. Then you have a flat foot. Now, we do have treatments for this condition. Typically you want to treat a flat foot because if you don’t, there can be issues with ankle pain, with knee pain, hip pain, and back pain. Because you can imagine if your base is out of alignment, then the rest of your joints can become out of alignment. Our thought is that this can cause arthritis at a premature age and various kinds of joint pains up the extremity, up the kinetic chain.”
Make an appointment with Thomas Goldman, DPM
Thomas Goldman, DPM, is a board-certified podiatrist at Mount Sinai Doctors, seeing patients Monday-Friday Trained in New York, he is certified by the American Board of Podiatric Medicine. He was awarded his medical degree from the New York College of Podiatric Medicine and completed his residency in Podiatry at Coney Island Hospital. He has a particular interest in podiatric minimally invasive foot surgery and sports medicine.
“Should we pop our pimples? Is that safe? And are facials safe? In general, it’s better not to pop the pimple because that, most of the time, causes scarring. The best treatments are usually topical and oral medications and intervening early – so seeing a dermatologist as early as possible is the best way to approach this. Facials, in general, are safe, and they’re typically used to treat blackheads and whiteheads, not cystic acne. As long as it’s done by a professional in a reputable salon, facials are typically safe, and that is a way to treat mostly blackheads.”
Tamara Lazic Strugar, MD, is a board certified dermatologist at Mount Sinai Doctors, seeing patients Tuesday-Thursday. She has a particular interest in eczema, psoriasis, acne, warts, skin cancers, medical and surgical treatment of skin disorders, and a wide variety of cosmetic procedures, including Botox, fillers, microneedling, chemical peels. Dr. Lazic Strugar is fluent in Serbian and Spanish. She knows basic Italian. Mount Sinai Doctors is an organization of clinical relationships and multi-specialty services that expand the Mount Sinai Health System’s footprint beyond the seven main hospital campuses into the greater New York City area.
“Blood-sugar is typically what we check when we identify those who are at risk for diabetes, and we do it as a screening test, as well. Generally we do a finger stick or blood serum analysis to determine what your blood sugar is, typically eight to ten hours before eating or eight to ten hours after your last meal. Now the range has changed over the years. Initially the cutoff for a normal glucose was less than 120. But currently the cutoff is less than 95. Anyone who’s above 95 really classifies as somebody who’s at risk for diabetes. Those individuals will actually come in at about 135 to 140 or even higher – those are people who are either at diabetic range or even exceed the range at which they have diabetes which is not under good control.”
Make an appointment with Berestrand Williams, MD, FAAP
Berestrand Williams, MD, FAAP is a board certified primary care doctor at Mount Sinai Doctors, seeing patients of all ages Monday – Friday. Trained in Connecticut and Massachusetts, he is certified by the American Board of Pediatrics and the American Board of Internal Medicine and a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Physicians.
After majoring in Biology and graduating with honors from Harvard University, he was awarded his medical degree from the University of Connecticut’s School of Medicine and completed two residencies – one in Internal Medicine at Boston University’s Boston City Hospital and another in Pediatrics at the combined Boston University School of Medicine – Harvard Pediatric Residency Program.
Prior to joining Mount Sinai Doctors, he practiced at the East Boston Neighborhood Health Center for nine years and then served as Chief of Primary Care at Concentra Urgent Care and Family Medicine Center. He has been nationally recognized, receiving the Surgical Scholars Award in 1987 and the AOL Foundation Grant: Franciscan Children’s Hospital in 2001. Dr. Williams is fluent in Spanish.
“Blurry vision is a common presentation of a wide variety of conditions. It starts with the surface of the eye, which is called the cornea, which is our largest refractive surface. This is where the majority of the blurry vision lies, as a result of conditions, such as nearsightedness, which is an ability to see far; farsightedness, which is the opposite; and the astigmatism, which is irregularity of the surface of the cornea of the eye. All of these conditions are benign and easily corrected with glasses or contact lenses. In addition to that, there are certain pathological conditions of the cornea that could lead to blurry vision, such infections in patients who are contact lens users, for instance, or certain genetic conditions, such as corneal dystrophies. The second refractive surface of the eye is the lens of the eye. The natural lens of the eye gives us one third of the refractive power. Conditions such as cataracts that impair the clarity of the lens will impact the ability to see clearly. In addition, diabetes, which causes an acute rise and then consequent fall in glucose levels, can impact the level of vision by shrinking or ballooning the lens. This is reversible as the sugars stabilize. In addition, there is a whole range of conditions that affect the posterior portion of the eye, where the retina and the optic nerves are located. As far as the optic nerve is concerned, we are mostly concerned with conditions, such as glaucoma, which lead to irreversible blindness that affects peripheral vision, but also causes blindness. As far as the retina is concerned, there is a whole range of conditions that can affect the retina that can cause blurry vision. Some of it is irreversible, such diseases as diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration, vascular occlusions – all of those conditions can lead to blurry vision and need to be treated promptly.”
Make an appointment with Maria Basile, MD
Maria Basile, MD, is an ophthalmologist specializing in glaucoma at Mount Sinai Doctors, seeing patients Monday-Friday. Trained in New York, she is certified in by the American Board of Ophthalmology and is a member of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and the American Glaucoma Society.
She was awarded her medical degree from SUNY Downstate Medical Center. She completed her residency in Ophthalmology at Maimonides Medical Center and her fellowship in Ophthalmology at The Mount Sinai Hospital. She specializes in small incision cataract surgery, as well as medical, laser, and surgical treatment of glaucoma, including the latest in micro-invasive glaucoma surgery. Dr. Basile is fluent in Spanish and Russian.
“Ice versus heat? It’s a very common question I get in my office. Ice is for acute injuries. So if you injure yourself, within 48 hours and have swelling, ice is very effective. When you ice a joint or muscle, it should be 20 minutes of ice followed by 20 minutes of rest. Heat, on the other hand, is more for a chronic injury. You never want to heat an inflamed joint. If you heat an inflamed joint, it could actually make it worse. Heat actually helps to promote healing for chronic injury and trigger points.”
Make an appointment with Jonathan Gordon, MD
Jonathan Gordon, MD, is a board certified orthopedist, specializing in sports medicine and foot and ankle surgery, at Mount Sinai Doctors, seeing patients Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. Trained in Philadelphia and New York, he is certified by the American College of Orthopedics. He was awarded his medical degree from Drexel University, where he completed his residency in Orthopedic Surgery, and completed his fellowship in Foot and Ankle Surgery at the Hospital for Special Surgery.
Dr. Gordon serves as the Medical Consultant for the NBA Milwaukee Bucks and a consulting physician for the New York Police Department and the Fire Department of New York. Prior to joining Mount Sinai Doctors, he served as an Orthopedic Consultant for the U.S. Figure Skating Association, American Ballet Theater, New York City Ballet, World Boxing Association, and the University of Connecticut Men’s basketball team. His research includes examinations of lower extremity trauma and the biomechanics of the ankle. He has a particular interest in arthroscopic and minimally invasive surgery of the knee, shoulder, foot and ankle.
“There’s no particular best shoe for running for any one individual. What one needs to consider is, first of all, what kind of foot type are they? Do they have a foot type that is more of a flatter foot? Are they a foot type that’s more of a neutral foot, where they have some degree of an arch? Or are they a very high arched foot? Once they determine that, then they can lead themselves into choosing a better shoe. So, typically, a shoe for a person who has a flatter foot would be a motion-controlled shoe – an example of that would be an Asics GT 2000. If someone has a more neutral foot type, then they might go with just a supportive, Nike type of shoe. And, if they have a pretty high-arched foot, they can generally use an Asics Nimbus. Those are examples because with a higher arch foot, you need more shock-absorption; with a lower arched foot, you need more support for the longitudinal arch, which helps to keep the foot in alignment with the body.”
Make an appointment with Thomas Goldman, DPM
Thomas Goldman, DPM, is a board-certified podiatrist at Mount Sinai Doctors, seeing patients Monday-Friday Trained in New York, he is certified by the American Board of Podiatric Medicine. He was awarded his medical degree from the New York College of Podiatric Medicine and completed his residency in Podiatry at Coney Island Hospital. He has a particular interest in podiatric minimally invasive foot surgery and sports medicine.
