Meet Dr. Lewis – NTFA
When it comes to podiatry, it seemed like a natural fit for Dr. Todd Lewis at North Texas Foot & Ankle. He said throughout his childhood, he was in and out of the doctor’s office. Sports, however, gave him (and his mother) a break from the worries of illness.
“Podiatry interested me because of the sports medicine element of it and became a specialist/podiatrist,” he said.
He also had other connections, despite no one else in his family being in the medical field.
“My pediatrician was friends with a podiatrist,” he noted. “I grew up on the beach, and injured my toe by getting it caught in a bike spoke. I went to my pediatrician as a kid, and the pediatrician sent me to a podiatrist. I thought I wanted to go into medicine in general, but that podiatrist was instrumental in inspiring me to go into podiatry.”
Throughout his career with North Texas Foot & Ankle, he’s seen the field expand and grow.
“Things in the OR are now done in the office with wound care,” he said. “For example, graphing you can do in the office.”
He also said that patients have found a lot of success through treatments that aren’t typical.
“I use a lot of stuff not covered by insurance — a lot of people don’t want to do self-paid things but I’ve had patients see incredible benefits from unexpected things,” he explained. “The CN-U is an exceptionally new technology that I like. I do laser (MLS); laser is effective. Light therapy is another.”
Wound care is something Dr. Lewis specializes in, and most of his patients are wound care and gout related.
“I see a lot of wound care,” he noted. “Diabetic wounds… wounds in general. I also treat infections and gout.”
What Dr. Lewis said really sets him apart is making sure patients feel heard.
“I listen, most of the time they’ll tell me the diagnosis before I even touch them,” he said, adding that eye contact is also an important piece to helping people feel heard.
“I don’t go in and start probing, I take the input of what they say. I just let my patients speak.”
Dr. Lewis is also an advocate for patient knowledge and prevention, particularly with wound care.
“I try to tell them to remember issues when you healed, wounds especially you have to be preventative,” he said. “I’m hardcore on education.”
Dr. Lewis said his work is only part of a patient’s overall health.
“Nutrition is a big thing I’ll utilize for patients,” he noted. “Homeopathic approach to people who only want to do things that can heal naturally, but also have a mix between steroids.
“Podiatry is a multidisciplinary approach… If disease is an issue for someone, there’s often largely vascular issues.”
But as Dr. Lewis notes, advancements in treatments can help offset those issues.
“Things that used to have IVs for treatment can now be delivered orally. Antibiotics have become a big part of that.”
When it comes to what Dr. Lewis says makes North Texas Foot & Ankle different from the rest, he said the answer is simple.
“I hate hearing that people can’t get in before they get to us, so same-day vs one-day meetings are huge to us. We’re flexible in getting patients in at a timely manner.”
