How to help diabetic patients avoid amputation. Prevention and management of foot ulcers.
Foot ulcers are a weighty complication of diabetes whose significance is often underestimated. They are associated with a high degree of morbidity and mortality, and treatment is laborious and costly. The problem of susceptibility to foot ulceration is best addressed through a prevention program emphasizing patient education, pedal hygiene, regular follow-up visits, and lifestyle modification. Such programs are most efficiently administered by a healthcare team. When ulcers do occur, it is important to take a systematic approach to management, stressing infection control, metabolic stabilization, thorough debridement, and meticulous wound care.
Shenaq
S M
SM
Division of Plastic Surgery, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030.
Klebuc
M J
MJ
Vargo
D
D
D000671:Amputation, Surgical; D017719:Diabetic Foot / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans