SAN DIEGO, Feb. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Most diabetes patients fear that someday complications of the disease will force them to undergo a debilitating foot amputation. There is encouraging news, however, as increasing numbers of podiatric foot and ankle surgeons are performing advanced limb-saving surgeries to repair and reconstruct seriously damaged feet and spare them from eventual amputation.
In a scientific presentation today at the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons (ACFAS) Annual Scientific Conference, ACFAS President Gary Jolly, DPM, FACFAS, an international expert in diabetic foot surgery, based near New Haven, Conn., reported that podiatric surgeons are achieving unprecedented success in saving the lower limbs of diabetic patients.
“In the past, anyone with diabetes wasn’t considered a good candidate for surgery because of poor circulation and nerve damage,” said Jolly. “Advanced techniques in both podiatric surgery and plastic surgery, however, enable the surgeon to correct structural deformities caused by diabetes and repair foot ulcers by transplanting tissue from other parts of the foot or the lower leg.”
Jolly added that development of refined arterial-bypass techniques allows podiatric surgeons to operate on patients who previously would not be candidates for foot reconstruction. In many cases, tiny stents can be implanted to restore circulation in the toes and forefoot area. This, combined with state-of-the-art bone fixation and reconstruction to restore foot stability and function, reduces ulcer-causing pressure and lowers the risk of losing a foot.
According to Peter Blume, DPM, FACFAS, director of limb preservation at Yale University Medical Center, the longevity of the U.S. population is creating a new generation of patients who are living long enough to develop long-term complications of diabetes and other diseases. “This is a group we didn’t treat several years ago, and as legions of Baby Boomers move into their 60s, 70s and 80s, they will want to remain active despite having diabetes, arthritis or cardiovascular disease. In the next decade, therefore, an ever- expanding focus of podiatric surgery will be on limb preservation,” said Blume.
“As podiatric surgeons our primary mission is to keep our patients active and on their feet,” said Jolly. “As such, we continue to explore and implement innovative surgical approaches to assure that foot amputations become a far less common outcome of diabetes.”
Jolly noted that many foot and ankle complications associated with diabetes can be prevented or minimized with regular check-ups and daily patient inspections for sores, cuts and tiny puncture wounds. He recommended that patients with impaired sensation in the lower extremities become aware of their elevated risk for foot problems and be monitored regularly. “Hopefully, practitioners can more readily identify those at high-risk and help prevent deformities and resultant foot ulcers,” he said.
It is estimated that 7 in 10 diabetic patients have nerve damage that impairs feeling on the bottom of the foot. Fifteen percent of them eventually will develop a foot ulcer. Among those with ulcers, one in four eventually will lose a foot, and each year more than 86,000 amputations are performed as an outcome of diabetes. Studies show half of diabetic patients who have one foot amputated will lose the other within three to five years.
For further information about diabetic foot conditions and to locate a podiatric foot and ankle surgeon in your area, contact ACFAS at http://www.footphysicians.com/ .
American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons
CONTACT: Chuck Weber for American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons,+1-847-705-1802, cpweber@weberpr.com
Web site: http://www.footphysicians.com/