Writer & Photographer / Abbie Willans
The Carroll Foot & Ankle Clinic is proud to welcome a new surgeon to its practice. Dr. Andrew Syndergaard, DPM, MS, recently completed his Podiatric Medicine and Surgery Residency at Ascension St. Vincent hospital in Indianapolis and is looking forward to making Indiana his home.
Originally from Utah, Dr. Syndergaard and his family have lived in many states across the U.S. After completing his degree at Rosalind Franklin University in Chicago, Illinois, he and his wife decided to put down roots in Indiana.
“My wife and I have four kids and we love to get outdoors,” he says. They’re excited to explore the Indiana Dunes soon. When the family came to Indiana at the beginning of his residency, they were in an RV, and Dr. Syndergaard stayed on a farm on the north side of Indianapolis in exchange for watching the animals while the owners went on vacation.
“It was a great trade-off. I’m from a really small town with more sheep than people. My wife is from Salt Lake City, and every place we’ve lived has been getting smaller and smaller. We’re showing her the ways of the small town,” he says with a laugh.
“We’re excited to call ourselves Hoosiers,” he adds.
Dr. Syndergaard and his wife enjoy the relaxed, family-friendly atmosphere in Indiana, and he sees it at work as well as at home.
“The office environment is unique here compared to some places I’ve been. The staff is really tight-knit. Everybody knows everybody, not just on a professional level, but also a personal level. It helps the vibe of the office, and I think the patients pick up on that.”
Dr. Syndergaard has experience with all kinds of surgeries, from fixing flat feet and high arches to performing amputations and tendon transfers.
“Doing reconstructions is really rewarding; seeing people who’ve had deformities for several years and then doing procedures that can help them get back to a normal life,” he says. However, it isn’t just those with severe foot conditions who could use Dr. Syndergaard’s advice.
“Most people are either wearing improperly fitted shoes or the wrong kinds of shoes,” he says.
He explains that in his biomechanical training, he learned about the “kinetic chain” and how each joint moves together and affects the joints around it, from the big toe all the way up to the knee and hip. His professor taught him how to use a Brannock device, the tool often found in shoe stores to help customers measure their feet.
“A good shoe will want to bend right where your foot bends. A lighter, thinner shoe these days will fold like tacos, and there’s no support. The Brannock device measures where that break point is on the shoe.”
Many people look at the length of their feet, but Dr. Syndergaard says that the important piece is the small knob on the side of the device.
“I even did this before I went to school. I was wearing what I thought were cool shoes, but I didn’t realize then that my shoe size was a lot bigger than I thought. I ran a marathon in a pair of shoes that were way too small, and I didn’t know until my training classes. I thought, ‘Oh my goodness, I’ve been in the wrong shoes.’ It really matters in the world we live in, full of hard tile and linoleum. We’ve got to protect our feet,” he continues.
Dr. Syndergaard will be accepting new patients starting Aug. 4, 2025, and is bilingual, offering services in Spanish as well.
More information can be found by calling 317-799-9000 or at carrollfootdoc.com. Carroll Foot & Ankle Clinic is located at 8849 Shelby St., Suite B1, Indianapolis, IN 46227.
