Latest News

August 23, 2023

Starting August 25, some features of the ACFAS website, including course registrations, will be offline as we upgrade our systems. The ACFAS website to be back up on Wednesday, September 6.   You can still register for educational courses during this upgrade outage by calling the ACFAS office at 773-444-1302. Thank you for your patience as we streamline your online experience!

April 25, 2023

Lowell Scott Weil, Sr., DPM, FACFAS, is a renowned foot and ankle surgeon, mentor, innovator, and friend to many. Throughout his career, Dr. Weil Sr. shared his talents with the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons, which was culminated by serving as it’s President from 1993-1994. Because of his dedicated service and leadership to the College, Dr. Weil Sr. was a leading architect for the Annual Scientific Conference, which became a “can’t miss event” under his leadership in the early 1990’s, surgical skills courses, the Journal of Foot and Ankle Surgery where he served as Editor-In -Chief and building relationships across medicine to enable ACFAS to better advocate on behalf of the membership.  

Dr. Weil Sr., founder of the Weil Foot and Ankle Institute, was one of the first to get a DPM degree in 1964, practicing from 1965 until his retirement in 2018. Dr. Weil Sr. was one of the first sports medicine specialists in the profession, taking care of runners during the running craze of the 1970’s, serving as Team Podiatrist to the 1980 Women’s Olympic Gymnastics team, team podiatrist and podiatry consultant for the Chicago Bears for 25 years,  team podiatrist for the Chicago White Sox for 25 years, and Podiatry Consultant to the Chicago Bulls.  

Dr. Weil Sr. is known throughout the world for his development of the Scarf Bunionectomy, a revolutionary procedure that is still commonly used today internationally and has helped countless patients around the globe.  The osteotomy that bears his name is the most commonly performed surgery on the forefoot in the world.  He developed the first ever first metatarsal phalangeal joint replacement in the early 1970’s that is used as the FDA predicate for all that came after.   

Read the full article, coordinated by Howard Zlotoff, DPM, FACFAS and authored by several ACFAS members, friends, and family of Dr. Lowell Weil Sr. The purpose of this article is to recognize the immense impact and accomplishments Dr. Weil Sr. has had on the College, the profession, and across medicine in advancing the art and science of foot and ankle surgery.  

Words cannot express our profound sadness as we announce the recent passing of former ACFAS Executive Director Chris (J.C.) Mahaffey, MS, CAE, FASAE.

Chris started with the College in 2003 and served until his retirement in 2020. He was a dedicated leader to ACFAS and the profession as well as a friend and mentor to so many members, staff and colleagues. Chris chose to follow a path of public service within the field of association management where he was a luminary among association executives and helped to advance the mission of several institutions for over 45 years. 

 His countless contributions and accomplishments during his ACFAS tenure were extensive and always driven by the needs of the membership. Today, ACFAS members and staff continue to build on the foundation that Chris laid for us over the years. ACFAS “stands on the shoulders of giants” and Chris is certainly one of them. 

 ACFAS staff are in the final days of preparations for its 2023 Annual Scientific Conference next week. While we are thinking about Chris and his family, the team is proud to carry on his legacy. 

 Thank you, Chris, for being our inspiration, our mentor, and our friend.

 “Together you have changed – and ARE changing—the course of American medical history.”

Chris Mahaffey, MS, CAE, FASAE, The Evolution of a Profession

 Chris’ family has shared that there will be a memorial service in the coming months. ACFAS will share details as they are available.

Christopher J. Lamy, DPM, FACFAS, a Fellow of the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons (ACFAS) was recently honored with the College’s highest award, the Distinguished Service Award. Dr. Lamy received his award at the ACFAS Annual Scientific Conference in Los Angeles.

 A prestigious honor voted on by his colleagues, Dr. Lamy received the Distinguished Service Award following an extensive tenure with the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons, having spent more than 20 years volunteering for the College. Most notably, Dr. Lamy’s leadership encompassed an area of technical instruction, where he served on the Surgical Skills Committee for six years, two of those as chair. In addition, Dr. Lamy played an important role in the College's electronic media offerings at a critical point in its evolution, where he helped optimize the College's web presence leading up to the year 2000.

 “I am humbled to know the ACFAS Board feels my work as a technical instructor for the College in addition to my work as a mentor and leadership team member warrants the honor of the Distinguished Service Award,” said Dr. Lamy. “In all my leadership roles over the years, I strived to contribute the most scientifically-sound, cutting-edge guidance, so foot and ankle surgeons remain the most trusted health care professionals serving patients.”

 “Under his leadership, Dr. Lamy had a distinct impact on virtually every one of our ACFAS Board members, either as a co-committee member, a mentor or a surgical instructor,” said Dr. Michael Cornelison, DPM, FACFAS, immediate-past-president of ACFAS. “Because of his impact, we as a Board were very proud to cast our vote for him to receive such an honorable award.”

Dr. Lamy also expressed gratitude for the support and guidance of the College’s continued dedication to helping to advance patient care through foot and ankle health research and hands-on instruction. “There is no excellence in patient care without scientific conferences, webinars and continuing education, adding vital practical knowledge and skills,” he said.

Dr. Lamy earned his doctoral degree in podiatric medicine at the California College of Podiatric Medicine and received advanced training at Saint Joseph’s Hospital in Philadelphia. Dr. Lamy also received fellowship training abroad in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at the University of Lund in Malmo, Sweden. Before joining the Vancouver Clinic in 2012, Dr. Lamy practiced in the Portland and Vancouver area for 20 years both in private practice and as teaching faculty at Oregon Health & Science University. Dr. Lamy is currently a foot and ankle surgeon at the Vancouver Clinic in Vancouver, Washington and is Board certified in foot surgery and reconstructive rearfoot/ankle surgery.

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Congratulations to the newly elected 2023-24 ACFAS Board members from the election that ended on December 14:

Incumbent: Matthew E. Williams, DPM, FACFAS
 Jason A. Piraino, DPM, MS, FACFAS

Dr. Williams and Piraino will serve three-year terms (2023-2026).

Also serving on the 2023-2024 Board of Directors are Eric A. Barp, DPM, FACFAS, President;George T. Liu, DPM, FACFAS, President-Elect; Alan Ng, DPM, FACFAS, Secretary-Treasurer; Michael J. Cornelison, DPM, FACFAS, Immediate Past President; Shane M. Hollawell, DPM, FACFAS; Alan A. MacGill, DPM, FACFAS; Andrew Meyr, DPM, FACFAS; Amber M. Shane, DPM, FACFAS; Gregory P. Still, DPM, FACFAS; Jason Piraino, DPM, FACFAS.

August 11, 2022 

The American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons (ACFAS) recognizes the role of board certification as an attestation to medical providers’ mastery of the standards and competencies specific to their training and practice within their specialty. Historically, board certification has provided the public with a trustworthy indication of their provider’s expertise. Increasingly however, board certification is being utilized as a requisite for obtaining and maintaining hospital privileges, as well as for participation with third-party payor networks.
 
The podiatric profession in the United States is currently subdivided into two specialties, podiatric medicine and podiatric (foot and ankle) surgery. ACFAS supports the recognition of one certifying board per specialty, as has been the determination of the Joint Committee on the Recognition of Specialty Boards (JCRSB) of the Council on Podiatric Medical Education (CPME). This policy supports the CPME’s goal of “prevention of unnecessary duplication by boards and maintenance of minimum standards for the conduct and operation of specialty boards.”¹ The American Board of Foot and Ankle Surgery (ABFAS) is recognized as the certifying board in the specialty of foot and ankle surgery and The American Board of Podiatric Medicine (ABPM) is recognized as the certifying board for primary podiatric medicine and podiatric orthopaedics. 

ACFAS is alarmed by the announcement from the American Board of Podiatric Medicine (ABPM) that it plans to issue an unrecognized certificate in podiatric surgery. Allowing a Certificate of Added Qualification (CAQ) not recognized by any accrediting body and circumvents the JCRSB determination risks safe patient care, the public’s trust and the reputation of our profession.

ACFAS acknowledges that credentialing bodies (hospital medical staffs, third-party payors, and other entities) may require board qualification/certification as one of many measures to determine a candidate’s worthiness of privileging or eligibility to provide specific services. ACFAS believes privileging, when determined to be contingent on board certification, should reflect certification or qualification by the specialty board recognized for assessing the training and demonstrated competence for the specific privilege in question.
 
The existence of separate certification in surgical and medical specialties in the profession of podiatry ultimately exists to protect the health and welfare of the public. It is also an important mechanism which allows doctors of podiatric medicine to develop the practice that best suits them and their ability to optimally serve their patients. The value of this distinction is maximized when clear delineations are maintained regarding the specialty training each board serves to certify. Those who have mastered the surgical aspects would be proficient enough to be board certified/qualified with ABFAS. For these reasons, ACFAS recognizes the American Board of Foot and Ankle Surgery as the only certifying board in the specialty of foot and ankle surgery and requires obtaining this certificate in order to be a Fellow of the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons.

Download the full statement.

June 28, 2022

ACFAS is pleased to announce the Journal of Foot and Ankle Surgery reached its highest Journal Impact Factor (JIF) to date of 1.34 -- up from 1.286 in 2020. The Journal also saw an increase in the total number of article citations in other journals with 4,823 citations in 2021.

The 2021 Impact Factor reflects article citations 2021 to articles published in 2020 and the continued increase further shows the impact JFAS has on the profession and the College. 

Thank you to those authors who completed their research and submitted their findings to JFAS -- its your research and dedication that helps move the profession forward. A special thank you also to the former JFAS editor, D. Scot Malay, DPM, FACFAS; current editor Naohiro Shibuya, DPM, FACFAS, the entire JFAS Editorial Board and the Council for Journal Management for their tireless work to help make this the best scientific journal in the profession.