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More Patients Staying Active and on Their Feet
Most diabetes patients fear that someday complications of their disease will force them to undergo a debilitating foot amputation. The American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons (ACFAS) reports encouraging news, as increasing numbers of foot and ankle surgeons are performing advanced limb-saving surgeries to repair and reconstruct seriously damaged feet and spare them from eventual amputation. 
Gary Jolly, DPM, FACFAS, an international expert in diabetic foot surgery, reports that foot and ankle 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,” says Jolly. “Advanced techniques, 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 adds that development of refined arterial-bypass techniques allows foot and ankle 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 foot and ankle surgeon 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," says Blume.
"The primary mission of foot and ankle surgeons is to keep patients active and on their feet,” says 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 notes 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 recommends 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 says.
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Page last updated: August 22, 2006 |