Nutritional Supplements and Foot Surgery

Over a 6 month period the investigators will enroll 45 male and female patients undergoing foot surgery. This is a prospective randomized trial and participants will be assigned to NutraHeal™ (n=15), NutraHeal Plus™ (n=15), or standard of care (n=15) for 1 week prior to surgery and 3 weeks after surgery. NutraHeal™ is a nutritional supplement that contains 7.5 micrograms (300 IU) of Vitamin D3, 80 mg of Calcium as Calcium Hydroxymethylbutyrate Monohydrate, 7.5 mg of Zinc, 600 mg of Calcium Hydroxymethylbutyrate Monohydrate, and 45 mg of Bromelain. NutraHeal Plus™ is a nutritional supplement that contains 80 mg of Calcium as Calcium Hydroxymethylbutyrate Monohydrate, 7.5 mg of Zinc, 600 mg of Calcium Hydroxymethylbutyrate Monohydrate, 45 mg of Bromelain, and 7.5 mg of reduced Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide (NADH). Patients randomized to standard of care will not receive any of the ingredients in NutraHeal™ or NutraHeal Plus™.

The foot surgeon will evaluate the patient for wound healing time, healing quality, erythema and new tissue quality, using a Likert rating scale against expected results from -4 (much worse) to +4 (much better) including the expected reference grade of zero (0). Wound healing will be assessed at 1 and 3 weeks after surgery. Patients will document medication compliance (day of surgery, 1 and 3 weeks after surgery), pain medication use (baseline, on the day of surgery and at 1 and 3 weeks after surgery) and rate overall satisfaction (5-point scale (1 = excellent; 2 = good; 3 = moderate; 4 = sufficient; 5 = unsatisfactory) at 3 weeks after surgery). Patients will also complete the PROMIS-29 instrument at baseline, the day of surgery, and at 1 and 3 weeks after surgery).

Inclusion criteria

• ≥ 20 years of age
• Undergoing foot surgery (matrixectomy (ingrown toenail removal) and wart removal)

Exclusion criteria

• > 80 years of age
• Pregnant patients or those anticipating pregnancy in the 1 month study period
• Allergic to pineapple
• Treated with oral anticoagulation
• Currently receiving Bromelain, Hydroxymethylbutyrate Monohydrate (HMB), reduced Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide (NADH), Vitamin D3, or Zinc.
• Alcoholism (>2 drinks/day)
• Insulin Dependent Diabetes
• Hepatic insufficiency (prior known liver function tests > 1.5 times the upper limit of normal)
• Renal failure (prior known creatinine > 2.0 mg/dl)
• Severe pulmonary disease (requiring home oxygen therapy)
• Psychiatric illness requiring therapy (DSM-V thought disorders, recurrent major depressive disorder)