Michael D. VanPelt, D.P.M., FACFAS, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at UT Southwestern Medical Center. He specializes in surgical treatment of foot and ankle sports injuries in adolescent and adult athletes, as well as foot and ankle trauma and reconstruction.
Dr. VanPelt earned his doctoral degree in podiatric medicine at the Dr. William M. Scholl College of Podiatric Medicine, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science. He completed a residency in podiatric medicine and surgery at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and received advanced training through a podiatric sports medicine fellowship at Barry University in Miami, Florida.
Certified by the American Board of Foot and Ankle Surgery in foot surgery and reconstructive rearfoot ankle surgery, he joined the UT Southwestern faculty in 2007.
Dr. VanPelt is a Fellow of the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgery and a past president of the Dallas County Podiatric Medical Society. He currently is on the board of directors of the Texas Podiatric Medical Association, serving as Chairman of its continuing medical education committee.
He also serves on the board of directors of the American Board of Foot and Ankle Surgeons and its computer-based patient simulation reconstructive rearfoot and ankle review committee. In addition, he is a member of the American Academy of Podiatric Sports Medicine.
Dr. VanPelt has delivered scores of presentations, contributed to the book Sports Medicine and Arthroscopy of the Foot and Ankle, and published several academic articles related to his areas of expertise.
In 2011, he earned the Texas Podiatric Medical Association’s Young Practitioner Award.
During a game, a soccer player in Dallas hears a pop and feels a sudden pain in the back of his ankle – the athletic trainer tells him it looks like an Achilles tendon rupture. Across town, a football player suffers a broken ankle. And a few blocks away, a runner in a new pair of minimalist shoes begins to feel an unfamiliar pain in her feet. She has to cut her run short. Those athletes should make their way to Michael VanPelt, D.P.M. An Associate Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at UT Southwestern Medical Center and a go-to consultant for the UT Southwestern Sports Medicine Program, Dr. VanPelt is a podiatrist and foot and ankle surgeon specializing in injuries to the foot and ankle – especially athletic injuries.
"I enjoy taking care of athletes. I’m a pretty big guy – 6 feet, 2 inches, and 265 pounds. I played sports growing up from first grade, from soccer to basketball, track, and football, and I know the kinds of injuries athletes experience."
He is board certified in both foot surgery and reconstructive ankle surgery, and he completed a podiatric sports medicine fellowship at Barry University in Miami, Florida. There he served as the podiatrist for the Miami Heat and the University of Miami men’s and women’s basketball team, and as team physician for Barry University athletics.
Runners get hurt too. Dr. VanPelt often sees runners with stress fractures to their sesamoids, a pair of small round bones at the base of the big toe. Overuse injuries can also strike runners who use minimalist shoes or go barefoot.
“Barefoot running is not for the novice runner – it should be for experienced runners who have a routine and regimen already,” Dr. VanPelt says. “In the U.S., everybody grows up in shoes. If all of a sudden you want to go back to barefoot again, it's not that easy.”
It takes time for athletes to recover from foot or ankle injuries, Dr. VanPelt says, and when patients return to play, they might not be at 100 percent. But once they’ve completed rehab and returned to play, they can start working their way back to their best.
Professional Associations & Affiliations:
Fellow of American College of Foot and Ankle Surgery
American College Of Foot And Ankle Surgeons
American College of Podiatric Sports Medicine
American College of Sports Medicine
American Podiatric Medical Association
Dallas Podiatric Medical Society
Texas Podiatric Medical Association
Honors & Awards
D Magazine Best Doctor 2022
Outstanding Educator Award 2019, Department of Prosthetics-Orthotics
Young Practitioner Award 2011, Texas Podiatric Medical Association, Annual Meeting
Dr. Harold Feder Orthopaedic Award 2001, The Scholl College Podiatric Medicine Finch University Health Science
Award Outstanding Contribution & Scholarly Research Area of Science/Technology 1998, University of Arkansas Pine Bluff School of Arts Science
Books & Publications
Turf Toe Injuries in Sports Medicine and Arthroscopy of the Foot and Ankle
Michael VanPelt, Amol Saxena and Marque Allen (2011), Springer
Amputation and infection are the greatest fears in patients with diabetes foot complications.
Wukich DK, Raspovic KM, Jupiter DC, Heineman N, Ahn J, Johnson MJ, Liu GT, VanPelt MD, Lafontaine J, Lavery L, Kim P, Nakonezny PA, Journal of diabetes and its complications 2022 Jul 36 7 108222
A Systematic Review of Intramedullary Fixation in Midfoot Charcot Neuroarthropathy.
Wukich DK, Liu GT, Johnson MJ, Van Pelt MD, Raspovic KM, Lalli T, Nakonezny P, The Journal of foot and ankle surgery : official publication of the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons 2022 Apr
One- and Two-Year Analysis of a Five-Year Prospective Multicenter Study Assessing Radiographic and Patient-Reported Outcomes Following Triplanar First Tarsometatarsal Arthrodesis With Early Weightbearing for Symptomatic Hallux Valgus.
Liu GT, Chhabra A, Dayton MJ, Dayton PD, Duke WJ, Farber DC, Hatch DJ, Kile DA, Koay J, McAleer JP, Raissi A, Raspovic KM, Santrock RD, Taylor RP, VanPelt MD, Wukich DK, The Journal of foot and ankle surgery : official publication of the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons 2022 Apr
Arthroscopic Findings in Refractory Symptomatic Fourth and Fifth Tarsometatarsal Joints.
Liu GT, Vanpelt MD, Manchanda K, Johnson MJ, Raspovic KM, Wukich DK, Lalli T, The Journal of foot and ankle surgery : official publication of the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons 2022 Feb
Identifying Risk Factors for Nonunion of the Modified Lapidus Procedure for the Correction of Hallux Valgus.
Wang B, Manchanda K, Lalli T, Wukich DK, Liu GT, Raspovic K, VanPelt M, Nakonezny PA, Johnson MJ, The Journal of foot and ankle surgery : official publication of the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons 2022 Jan
Low Risk of Wound Complications With Sinus Tarsi Approach for Treatment of Calcaneus Fractures.
Wallace B, Chhabra A, Narayanan A, O'Neill D, Xi Y, Van Pelt M, Wukich DK, Liu G, Sanders D, Lalli T, The Journal of foot and ankle surgery : official publication of the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons 2021 Dec
Comparison of Short-Term Outcomes After Total Ankle Replacement and Ankle Arthrodesis: An ACS-NSQIP Database Study.
Anigian K, Ahn J, Wallace SB, Manchanda K, Liu GT, Raspovic KM, Van Pelt M, Wukich DK, Lalli TAJ, Foot & ankle specialist 2021 Oct 19386400211043363
Are Readmission and Reoperation Rates for Lower Extremity Necrotizing Fasciitis Different Between Patients With and Without Diabetes Mellitus?
Ahn J, Farahani F, Raspovic KM, Liu GT, Lalli TA, VanPelt MD, Nakonezny PA, Wukich DK, The Journal of foot and ankle surgery : official publication of the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons 2021 Jul
The Impact of Hospitalization for Diabetic Foot Infection on Health-Related Quality of Life: Utilizing PROMIS.
Johnson MJ, Wukich DK, Nakonezny PA, Lavery LA, La Fontaine J, Ahn J, Truong DH, Liu GT, VanPelt M, Kim PJ, Raspovic KM, The Journal of foot and ankle surgery : official publication of the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons 2021 Jul
Short Term Radiographic and Patient Outcomes of a Biplanar Plating System for Triplanar Hallux Valgus Correction.
Manchanda K, Chang A, Wallace B, Ahn J, Xi Y, Liu GT, Raspovic K, Van Pelt M, Chhabra A, Wukich D, Lalli T, The Journal of foot and ankle surgery : official publication of the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons 2021 May-Jun 60 3 461-465
Are the Sanders-Frykberg and Brodsky-Trepman Classifications Reliable in Diabetic Charcot Neuroarthropathy?
Wukich DK, Raspovic K, Liu GT, Van Pelt MD, Lalli T, Chhabra A, Nakonezny P, La Fontaine J, Lavery L, Kim PJ, The Journal of foot and ankle surgery : official publication of the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons 2021 May-Jun 60 3 432-435
Insulin Dependence Increases the Risk of 30-Day Postoperative Complications Following Ankle Fracture Surgery in Patients With Diabetes Mellitus.
Liu JW, Ahn J, Nakonezny PA, Lalli T, VanPelt MD, Raspovic KM, Wukich DK, Liu GT, The Journal of foot and ankle surgery : official publication of the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons 2021 Mar
Charcot Midfoot Reconstruction: Does Subtalar Arthrodesis or Medial Column Fixation Improve Outcomes?
Manchanda K, Wallace SB, Ahn J, Nakonezny P, Liu GT, Raspovic KM, Van Pelt M, Wukich DK, Lalli T, The Journal of foot and ankle surgery : official publication of the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons 2020 Jul
Optimizing Results in Diabetic Charcot Reconstruction.
Raspovic KM, Liu GT, Lalli T, Van Pelt M, Wukich DK, Clinics in podiatric medicine and surgery 2019 Jul 36 3 469-481
Surgical Management of Displaced Intra-Articular Calcaneal Fractures: What Matters Most?
Liu GT, Vanpelt MD, Lalli T, Raspovic KM, Wukich DK Clinics in podiatric medicine and surgery 2019 Apr 36 2 173-184
Is Routine Hardware Removal Following Open Reduction Internal Fixation of Tarsometatarsal Joint Fracture/Dislocation Necessary?
VanPelt MD, Athey A, Yao J, Ennin K, Kassem L, Mulligan E, Lalli T, Liu GT, The Journal of foot and ankle surgery : official publication of the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons 2019 Mar 58 2 226-230
Three-Dimensional Computed Tomographic Characterization of Normal Anatomic Morphology and Variations of the Distal Tibiofibular Syndesmosis.
Liu GT, Ryan E, Gustafson E, Vanpelt MD, Raspovic KM, Lalli T, Wukich DK, Xi Y, Chhabra A The Journal of foot and ankle surgery : official publication of the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons 2018 Sep
Gender Differences on SF-36 Patient-Reported Outcomes of Diabetic Foot Disease.
Del Core MA, Ahn J, Wukich DK, Liu GT, Lalli T, VanPelt MD, Raspovic KM The international journal of lower extremity wounds 2018 Jun 1534734618774664
Scoring Mental Health Quality of Life With the SF-36 in Patients With and Without Diabetes Foot Complications.
Ahn J, Del Core MA, Wukich DK, Liu GT, Lalli T, VanPelt MD, La Fontaine J, Lavery LA, Raspovic KM The international journal of lower extremity wounds 2018 Mar 1534734618762226
Kinematic Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Peroneal Tendon Subluxation with Intraoperative Correlation.
VanPelt MD, Landrum MR, Igbinigie M, Wadhwa V, Chhabra A The Journal of foot and ankle surgery : official publication of the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons 2017 Jan
Fracture of the cuboid.
Borrelli J, De S, VanPelt M The Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons 2012 Jul 20 7 472-7
New and Recurrent Ulcerations after Percutaneous Achilles Tendon Lengthening in Transmetatarsal Amputation
Javier La Fontaine, DPM, MS, Damieon Brown, DPM, Moffatt Adams, DPM, Michael VanPelt, DPM The Journal of Foot and Ankle Surgery May 2008 Volume 47, No. 3 225-229
Open Traumatic Dislocation of the First Metatarsophalangeal Joint with Fracture of the Fibular and Tibial Sesamoids: Case Report
Michael VanPelt, DPM, Damieon Brown, DPM, Jeff Doyle, DPM, Javier La Fontaine, DPM, MS Journal Foot and Ankle Surgery March 2007 Volume 46, No. 2 124-129
Secrets to Treating Athletes with Ankle Fractures
Damieon Brown,DPM, Lawrence DiDomenico, DPM, Michael VanPelt, DPM Podiatry Today January 2007 Volume 20, Issue 1 1045-7860
First metatarsophalangeal joint dislocation with open fracture of tibial and fibular sesamoids.
Van Pelt M, Brown D, Doyle J, LaFontaine J, The Journal of foot and ankle surgery : official publication of the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons 2007 46 2 124-9
Research
Use of Advanced Imaging of Calcaneal Fractures to improve surgical reconstruction of the calcaneus
Ankle and Foot Trauma
Ankle and Foot Reconstruction and Revision Surgery
Ankle and Foot Sports Injuries
