Treatment Process
Treatment Process
During a podiatric treatment your feet are thoroughly inspected and any complaints are treated. Here you can find out, step by step, what happens at your appointment.
What a Podiatric Treatment Involves
At the start of the podiatric treatment I take your history and inspect your feet. I look for changes in the skin and nail growth. The inspection also includes an examination of your footwear. We treat complaints caused by excess callus, calluses or fissures, pressure points, or changes in nail growth such as ingrown or curled nails.
Medical foot care therefore differs significantly from cosmetic foot care. It is a findings-based treatment: examination always comes before the first instrument is used, and documentation follows every treatment. Every appointment begins with a sterile instrument set opened just for you. You can read how we reprocess our instruments under Hygiene.
First Visit
Process for New Patients
The first appointment is the most thorough. It lays the foundation for all further treatments, because this is where the baseline findings are established, against which progress can later be measured.
1. Arrival and registration
You arrive, we record your personal details and clarify whether the treatment is billed privately or is covered by a medical prescription. Please allow around 60 to 75 minutes for your first visit, considerably longer than for a later follow-up appointment. Please bring a list of your medications, any existing findings, and the shoes you wear most often day to day.
2. Detailed history-taking
We discuss your complaints, their history, and underlying conditions such as diabetes mellitus, rheumatic disease, circulatory disorders, neuropathies or skin conditions. Blood thinners, chemotherapy, cortisone preparations and allergies are also important, as they affect wound healing and skin condition. We also discuss your occupation, sport, gait and how you have cared for your feet at home so far.
3. Inspection of skin and nails
During a podiatric treatment your feet are thoroughly inspected and any complaints are treated. We look for changes in the skin and nail growth: callus distribution, calluses, fissures, pressure points, redness, swelling, nail shape, nail colour, nail plate thickening and signs of fungal infection.
4. Examination of footwear
The inspection also includes an examination of your footwear. Wear patterns, lining, toe box, insoles and sole stiffness reveal a great deal about load and abnormal loading. Very often the true cause of a pressure point lies not in the foot, but in the shoe.
5. Findings and treatment plan
We summarise the findings in plain terms, document them, and discuss with you what makes sense today and what will be built up over several sessions. You are told in advance what costs will arise and at what interval we recommend a follow-up visit.
6. The treatment itself
We treat complaints caused by excess callus, calluses or fissures, pressure points, or changes in nail growth such as ingrown or curled nails. We work with minimal pain using scalpel, burr and fine instruments, either dry or after a foot bath depending on the findings. Where needed, we fit nail braces, nail prosthetics or silicone orthoses.
7. Conclusion, aftercare and next appointment
At the end we care for the skin with a preparation matched to your skin type, give you concrete guidance for care at home, and arrange your next appointment. For wounds, signs of inflammation or notable circulatory findings, you receive a clear recommendation for medical assessment.
What to Bring to Your First Appointment
A list of your medications, especially blood thinners and immunosuppressants- Any existing medical letters, diabetes pass or circulatory findings
- A medical prescription, if the treatment is billed via your health insurer
- Your everyday shoes and, if you have them, insoles
- Details of allergies and intolerances, for example to plasters or iodine
- Please do not wear nail polish on the day of treatment and refrain from treating your own callus beforehand. Both alter the findings and make assessment more difficult.
Follow-up Visits
Process for Follow-up Appointments
Follow-up appointments are shorter and more targeted. The findings are already known, treatment builds on the previous appointment and is continuously adapted to how your feet are developing.
1. Brief history since the last appointment
We review the documentation from the last appointment and ask specifically: what has improved, what has stayed the same, were there any new pressure points, medication changes, surgery or changes in blood sugar control? A follow-up appointment usually takes 45 to 60 minutes.
2. Comparative inspection
The feet are inspected again, this time in direct comparison with the documented previous findings. This allows us to assess whether callus formation, nail growth and pressure distribution are responding to the treatment so far, or whether we need to adjust our approach.
3. Checking any aids in use
Nail braces are checked for fit and tension and readjusted or replaced as needed. We check silicone orthoses for fit and material fatigue, and nail prosthetics for edge seal and adhesion. We also review insoles and shoes again.
4. Treatment and fine work
The follow-up appointment is mostly maintenance work: callus is reduced to a physiologically sensible level, nail folds are relieved, nail edges are trimmed and smoothed, and calluses and emerging fissures are removed before they cause pain or become entry points for pathogens.
5. Documentation and interval planning
Every finding is documented on an ongoing basis. This determines your personal interval: often every eight to twelve weeks for unremarkable feet, or every four to six weeks for diabetes, nail brace therapy or pronounced callus formation.
Special Considerations for Certain Findings
Diabetic Foot Syndrome
In diabetes, treatment is especially careful and closely monitored. We test touch and vibration sensation, look for pressure points in typical locations such as the ball of the foot, heel and toe tips, and document every abnormality. Small wounds are not downplayed but referred for medical assessment.
Ingrown and Curled Nails
After relieving the nail fold, a nail brace may be used where indicated. It works over weeks to months and is readjusted at every follow-up appointment. Success largely depends on keeping to the recommended intervals.
Nail and Foot Fungus
Thickened, brittle or discoloured nails are professionally thinned so that active ingredients can actually reach the nail plate. This treatment supports the medical therapy but does not replace it.
Pain-sensitive Feet
Please tell us at any time if something feels uncomfortable. We work in smaller steps, take breaks, and split the treatment across two appointments if needed.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Process
How long does an appointment take?
The first visit takes around 60 to 75 minutes, a follow-up appointment usually 45 to 60 minutes.
Does the treatment hurt?
Podiatric treatment causes minimal pain. Relieving measures on inflamed nail folds may be briefly uncomfortable, but usually bring immediate relief.
How often should I come?
Usually every four to twelve weeks, depending on your findings, callus formation, nail growth and underlying conditions. We agree on your personal interval together.
What does treatment cost?
You can find all items for self-paying and insurance patients under Prices. An overview of our treatments is shown on the Services page.