Nerve release surgery resolves “drop foot” for Venice man

By Heidi Smith, Contributor

Following a serious fall at age 29, Marty Shoemaker’s foot and ankle problems ended his passion for tennis, cycling, and even walking. A “drop foot” caused by nerve damage in his left leg dramatically limited his mobility and made simple movements like using stairs or stepping from a curb risky propositions.

“If you don’t really concentrate on setting your foot down flat, you’ll step onto the side of the foot and fall on your face,” said the 65-year-old Venice resident. “I saw many doctors about the drop foot over the years, but they all said nothing could be done.”

After he moved to Venice in 2018, a surgical repair on his left small toe had become so painful, Shoemaker searched online to find a foot doctor. That’s how he met Michael Gallina, D.P.M., a podiatrist and reconstructive foot-and-ankle surgeon at ShorePoint Podiatry in Venice.

“Dr. Gallina found that a pin from surgery decades ago was the problem with my toe,” Shoemaker explained. “He removed the pin and fixed my toe. But what amazed me is that he said there could be a fix for my drop foot!”

“As I examined Marty’s condition, I pressed on a specific nerve in his leg, and he felt shooting pain. That was actually a good thing; it meant the nerve was still alive,” Dr. Gallina said. “If we could release the nerve from being impinged, there was a good chance Marty’s drop foot could be resolved.”

Dr. Gallina trained under a surgeon at Johns Hopkins who pioneered a nerve release procedure to treat drop foot. He encouraged Shoemaker to read about the procedure.

“Dr. Gallina told me the surgery doesn’t work for everyone,” Shoemaker said. “I could have some improvement, a lot of improvement or no improvement. He was very careful to manage my expectations.”

But after doing his “homework,” Shoemaker’s decision was an emphatic “YES!”

In October 2021, Dr. Gallina performed the nerve release procedure at ShorePoint Venice Health Park. Dr. Gallina made an incision in the outer calf to access the nerve that controls the muscles responsible for ankle flexion. He then isolated bands of tissue that were compressing the nerve, and released them, restoring blood flow to the nerve.

Shoemaker was able to stand and walk immediately after surgery, with the aid of a supportive boot that he wore for two weeks. He then began physical therapy.

While the drop foot was resolved, Shoemaker’s journey to better mobility wasn’t over. Because he had compensated for the drop foot with an unnatural gait for many years, bone spurs had grown on his ankle. The bony growths continued to limit his mobility. In February 2022, Dr. Gallina removed the bone spurs, again in an outpatient procedure.

Five months later, Shoemaker’s range of motion was much improved.

“My left leg and ankle had atrophied over the years from lack of use,” he said. “Now that I’m moving them, there’s a lot more mobility. I’ve always been cautious on stairs or stepping off a curb. With the foot drop, there was so much deadening of the nerve, I couldn’t tell if my left foot was flat on the floor before taking a step, so my ankle would turn under. Now, I’ll take the stairs and not think twice.

“It’s such a good feeling,” he continued. “I’m able to walk more, and the physical therapist says I’ll be able to increase distance as things strengthen. And I’ll be able to ride a bike again. It seems a small thing, but it’s huge!”

Shoemaker credits Dr. Gallina for giving him a new lease on an active lifestyle.

“Dr. Gallina is so focused, and anticipates absolutely everything,” Shoemaker said. “He’s always positive and well informed. He doesn’t rush through anything and answers every question. He never makes me feel like I’m asking a stupid or redundant question. His staff is just incredible. I can’t say enough about the people that work in his office. I would tell anyone with foot or ankle problems to start with Dr. Gallina. I can never repay him for what he’s done for me.”

Michael R. Gallina, D.P.M.
Podiatrist & Reconstructive Foot-and-Ankle Surgeon

SharePoint Medical Group
ShorePointPodiatry.com
(941) 487-0916