Life-changing Limb Reconstruction for Veterans

“Too much skydiving and competitive running,” is what David Mack attributes his long term foot and leg issues to. Mack served in the Navy from 1973 – 1979, where he quickly climbed the ranks from electrician to special operations. During his military assignment, Mack was tasked on many different sky diving expeditions that impacted his healthy limbs. After his time in the Navy, Mack went on to pursue competitive athletics at Ohio State University, running long distances in track and field competitions.

Mack continued to pursue athletic hobbies, even after his competitive college athletics career, staying physically active and fit. Then one winter he accidentally walked across a patch of ice and fell. It felt like “everything was collapsing around my left foot,” according to Mack. As someone who led a healthy and active life, Mack let it heal on its own, and despite partial recovery, Mack new that his foot and leg had “healed funny” leaving him in immense discomfort and pain.

Two years ago, Mack began seeking out treatment options through the Veteran’s Health Administration. From the VA, Mack learned of Dr. Edgardo Rodriguez-Collazo, an expert physician at Presence Saint Joseph Hospital Chicago who specializes in treating complex lower limb conditions.

“I want to take care of people, no matter what it takes,” says Dr. Rodriguez-Collazo. After meeting Mack, Dr. Rodriguez-Collazo took great care to understand his Mack’s need for a foot deformity correction and leg realignment procedure. Having completed his residency at the North Chicago Veterans Administration Medical Center, Dr. Rodriguez-Collazo has long been an advocate for taking care of our veterans.

Dr. Rodriguez-Collazo has extensive experience in muscle flap procedures and peripheral nerve surgery. He has performed complex muscle flap and nerve surgeries, having successfully completed hundreds of nerve cases. With expertise in the most complex cases of limb surgeries, Dr. Rodriguez-Collazo also specializes in Ilizarov procedures, an orthopedic surgery used to lengthen or reshape limb bones that are not amenable with other techniques.

After the Ilizarov procedure by Dr. Rodriguez-Collazo to correct his foot deformity and realign his leg, Navy veteran David Mack is back to normal, resuming his healthy activities. Mack went from having gained a considerable amount of weight from being unable to move, to returning to his active lifestyle and beginning to pursue Olympic weight lifting. “Dr. Rodriguez-Collazo, as my surgeon and my advocate, has changed my life, allowing me to pursue the healthy life I want to lead.”

Edgardo Rodriguez-Collazo, DPM, is an expert surgeon at Presence Saint Joseph Hospital and chairman of the Chicago Lower Extremity Surgery Symposium. Request an appointment online or call 312.335.3939.