Guiding The Trajectory Of Podiatry For 50 Years

Last week, Lowell Scott Weil, DPM, FACFAS, celebrated his 50^th anniversary of practice.

Lowell Weil, Sr. entered the Illinois College of Podiatry in 1960 at the age of 18. Four years later, he was among the first graduating class to get degrees in Doctor of Podiatric Medicine (formerly Doctor of Chiropody). At that time, the school offered two residencies, one for three months and one for six months. He was lucky to be admitted to the six-month program at Civic Hospital in Detroit.

Upon completion of the residency, he moved back home to Chicagoland and opened his first office, paying rent of $300 a month. Initially, he answered the phone, greeted the patients, collected the money, cleaned the rooms and everything else needed to get the practice off the ground. No hospitals allowed podiatrists on staff at that time. Later that year, Steve Smith, DPM, a friend from podiatry school, finished his training at Civic Hospital and joined Lowell as a partner.

Steve and Lowell (and many others in the profession) were not satisfied with the state of podiatry and started pushing the limits. They became known for the innovative surgical procedures they were performing. Eventually, Northlake Hospital, a small hospital in the suburbs of Chicago, allowed podiatrists on staff. A podiatric residency started at the hospital and eventually became a two-year program with nine first-year positions and three second-year positions. Northlake Hospital became an historic transformation for the profession. Not only did some of the legends of the profession teach and learn there, but they invented surgical procedures, perfected treatments and discovered products that changed the face of foot and ankle care.

In looking through a box of memorabilia, I came across a program for the Northlake Hospital Fourth Annual Postgraduate Course in Decisions in Foot Surgery during the first week of December 1974 where Lowell Weil, Sr. was the Program Chair. John Basmajian, MD, Merton Root, DPM, James Sammarco, MD, E. Dalton McGlamry, DPM, Caroll Silver, MD and Roger Mann, MD were part of the faculty.

He was a member of the group, which included such names as John Ruch, DPM, Howard Sokoloff, DPM, Joshua Gerbert, DPM, Irvin Kanat, DPM, E. Dalton McGlamry, DPM, Schoenberger, and Howard Reinherz, DPM, who organized the American Board of Podiatric Surgery and served as its first President.

To continually strive for more education, Lowell Weil Sr. traveled the world and attended foot and ankle meetings of all kinds. To attend the American Association of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS) Annual Meeting, he needed to have his brother-in-law, an MD, register and use his brother-in-law’s name and pass to get into the meetings. In order to not be recognized by the foot and ankle orthopedic surgeons at the meeting, he had to pay off the projectionist and sit in the slide projection room during the conference. Along the way, he became friends with Michael Coughlin, MD, Mark Myerson, MD, Andrea Cracchiolo, MD, and many others. He has attended 48 of the last 50 AAOS Annual Meetings.

He and Dr. Smith invented new and innovative products for foot surgery including artificial joints with Dow Corning and the first ever two-piece first metatarsophalangeal joint replacement with Richards Manufacturing. They performed total ankle replacements in the early 1970s.

Lowell Weil, Sr. was among the first sports medicine specialists in our profession.  He began taking care of the Chicago Bears in the early 1970s and served as team podiatrist until 1998. He volunteered at the MidAmerican Twisters, a local gymnastics club, and was named team doctor for the 1980 United States Women’s Gymnastic Team. He was well known in the running community and worked as the lead podiatrist for the first Chicago Marathon (Mayor Daley Marathon) in 1976. He consulted for the Chicago Bulls, continues to serve as team podiatrist for the Chicago White Sox and treated hundreds of professional athletes, thousands of high school and college athletes, and tens of thousands of recreational athletes. Baseball Hall of Famer Carlton Fisk mentioned Dr. Weil during his retirement speech and Frank Thomas thanked Dr. Weil during his Hall of Fame Acceptance speech. The athlete who touched his heart the most was Chicago Bear Walter Payton. He treated Walter for years and proudly considered him a friend.

Throughout most of his career until the early 1980s, he strongly participated in residency training. In the 1980s, Lowell Weil, Sr. traveled often to foot and ankle meetings in Europe, learning different philosophies and techniques that he could utilize on his patients. He created many relationships and friendships that expanded the reach and influence of podiatrists worldwide. No friendship was better or more important than the one forged with Louis Samuel Barouk, MD, from Bordeaux, France. Drs. Barouk and Weil collaborated on many projects and it was Dr. Barouk who named the procedure “the Weil osteotomy” after seeing Lowell perform it in 1990. Dr. Barouk popularized the Weil osteotomy and the scarf procedure (also learned from Weil) all around the world.

Weil lectured at an orthopedic practice management meeting for several years with his topic being, “Why you should bring a podiatrist into your practice” and was responsible for placing over 100 podiatrists into orthopedic practices. These types of experiences continued to propel the podiatric profession into mainstream medicine.

He has served as President of the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons, Editor of the Journal of Foot and Ankle Surgery, and organized international meetings of foot and ankle surgeons.

Over the last 20 years, he has focused his attention on building the Weil Foot & Ankle Institute, which now has 22 locations in three states with nearly 30 physicians of different specialties and immediate plans to expand nationwide. 

The last 50 years have seen an amazing evolution of the podiatric profession. The trajectory of the profession can be traced with that of Lowell Weil, Sr. He has treated over 100,000 patients and performed over 40,000 surgeries. He has trained hundreds of residents and fellows. He has been a statesman and ambassador of our profession.

Fifty years? Many of us have not lived 50 years. Most of us cannot imagine doing anything for 50 years. Lowell Weil Sr., DPM, FACFAS, has proudly represented podiatric medicine, his patients and community for 50 years, and continues to this day.

Happy 50^th anniversary, Dad.