How Bad Are Your Feet Tophi

How Bad Are Your Feet Tophi

by KeithTaylor Comment Closed
These images are from a summary of a new case study about tophi in the left foot. This ties in with a recent review of unusual tophi presentation (search for occupational gout) The working title of my summary is How Bad Can Feet Tophi Get? I think you'll understand the title better once you see the images, but first the abstract. Feet Tophi Case Report: Abstract Title:Multiarticular chronic tophaceous gout with severe and multiple ulcerations: a case report. Authors:Falidas E, Rallis E, Bournia VK, Mathioulakis S, Pavlakis E, Villias C. Published:J Med Case Rep. 2011 Aug 19;5:397. In my summary, I will use laymans terms to explain the medical terms and issues. Multiarticular means affecting many joints. Click to read the Feet Tophi gout case study...
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Tophi And Allopurinol

by KeithTaylor Comment Closed
This discussion is now closed. Please see the tophi guidelines, or start a new discussion in the gout forum. Get treatment for gout to remove tophi before your knees look like this! Gout brings strange swellings to elbows, knees, hands and ears. Uric acid crystals build up as lumps outside the joints. Each lump is called a tophus. You usually get several tophi - a stage of gout called tophaceous gout. A reader is anxious to hear your experience of tophi and allopurinol, but first some background. When tophi grow near the joints, particularly on the fingers, you might need surgery to remove them. Tophi also need to be removed if they break through the skin and risk causing infection. The alternative to surgery is to lower uric acid low enough so that crystals in the tophi, and in the joints, dissolve. In the study, "Effect of urate-lowering therapy on the velocity of size reduction of tophi in chronic gout", the authors conclude: Serum...
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Terrors Of Tophi

by KeithTaylor Comment Closed
Gouty tophi (singular = tophus) are lumps of uric acid crystals. They frequently form under the skin after prolonged uric acid over 6.8mg/dL. As uric acid crystals form, our white blood cells attack the invading crystals, so tophi are a mass of crystals and dead cells. Over time, these become harder, and can reduce mobility or burst through the skin, risking infection. Tophi will slowly shrink when uric acid is below the crystallization point. They shrink faster when uric acid is lower. Modern uricase treatments, such as Krystexxa (pegloticase) shrink tophi fastest. Often, gout patients have to resort to surgery, though I have seen one video where this is simply because the doctor had no idea what uric acid levels should be. See tophi discussions, old and new...
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