Meet Dr. Shawn Echard! Dr. Echard has been practicing podiatry in Greensburg since 1996. He is a graduate of Southmoreland High School and received his bachelor's degree from Washington and Jefferson College. He then attended the Ohio College of Podiatric Medicine and completed a two year surgical residency through UPMC Bedford Memorial Hospital. 

"A friend (and his father) from W&J convinced me to take a look at the profession of podiatry. At the time, medicine was very different than what it is today,” Dr. Echard says. “I was blessed to have a very supportive and strong group of Podiatric surgeons in my residency and was able enter practice with one of my attending surgeons from my residency, Dr. Greg Spain. We worked extremely well together for over a decade. He semi-retired and moved out of state, and I've been an independent solo practitioner since.”

Today, Dr. Echard owns Laurel Podiatry and provides all-encompassing treatment of the foot and ankle to his patients. He is proud to serve our community by improving his patients’ lives. Whether patients are in need of standard treatments, regenerative treatments, or surgery, Laurel Podiatry can help.

"I feel many things differentiate my practice. It's important to provide treatment options to patients and not to be locked into specific protocols or medications,” Dr. Echard says.

His practice is dedicated to using the latest and most advanced treatments available to help patients thrive. 

“We differentiate ourselves through the use of regenerative therapies and treatments using lasers, shockwave machines and biologic dressing using placental tissue to heal wounds quickly. Surgery is always a last resort,” Dr. Echard says.

One of his most difficult patients to treat are those suffering with peripheral neuropathy. However, Laurel Podiatry offers state-of-the-art, researched treatments to help improve patients’ quality of life whenever possible.

"There is no cure and there are limited treatment options available that have true research and multi center double blind studies behind them,” he says.

Dr. Echard uses the Multi Lock System, or MLS laser, to treat neuropathy, heel and achilles pain and even to assist healing wounds. His goal is over 60 percent improvement with the course of treatment, and he personally consults with patients to address their needs.

"I think it's disingenuous to tell them it will cure them. I do all pre-laser consultations, not a medical assistant,” Dr. Echard says. “We can do epidermal nerve fiber density testing as a means to assess the amount of nerve fibers present before and after treatment."  

Dr. Echard states that great coordination with a patient's PCP, Endocrinologist and Vascular Specialist improves success but there is no substitute for patient compliance. The MLS laser treatment for neuropathy requires twice weekly treatments for several weeks. 

"We charge a flat $995 total for the entire course of treatment for neuropathy, not several thousand,” Dr. Echard says.

Fungal infections are a common issue and affect millions of Americans every year. Dr. Echard offers a trailblazing treatment, the Lunula laser, to help his patients fight off fungal infections as quickly and painlessly as possible. Dr. Echard recommends the Lunula laser in conjunction with a shoe sterilizing spray and topical medication. The treatment requires weekly treatments for four straight weeks.

"The Lunula is the state of the art laser for fingernails and toenails. It's fast, effective and painless,” Dr. Echard says. “We always do a nail culture prior to laser or any other treatments.  It's common sense to see what is causing the nail issue and treat the cause and not guess that it's fungus because sometimes it isn't."  

The Lunula laser is not covered under insurance as it is viewed as cosmetic. The total cost of the Lunula laser treatments is $850. For more information on the Lunula laser, the MLS laser, or other treatments offered at Laurel Podiatry, visit Dr. Echard’s website Laurelpodiatry.com and watch the videos under the advanced treatment tab.

Dr. Echard and his wife Christine have three children together—Elyse, who currently lives in Charleston and works for Johnson & Johnson, Emily, who teaches fifth grade ELA at Norwin School District, and Isaac, who is a research, trading and investment analyst at Hapanowicz Financial. When Dr. Echard isn’t serving his patients, he enjoys golfing, hiking and spending time with his family, especially his grandson.

Dr. Echard advises readers to seek help for their pain, avoid taking advice from people who aren’t medical professionals and keep up with their yearly preventative exams to ensure their health.

“If you're a diabetic, get a yearly foot exam, and avoid advice on a condition from a friend or family member,” he says. “Lastly, pain is simply not normal. Seek medical attention, preferably from a Board Certified Physician who specializes in your complaint.”