Why are foot wounds a concern for people with diabetes?
As we age, we are more likely to develop diabetes. As a population diabetes is affecting more and more of our numbers and we are seeing extraordinary amounts of healthcare dollars going to the care of diabetes and diabetic ulcers. These wounds are important and urgent due to the fact that diabetics heal more slowly and their wounds progress with infections more rapidly. Nerve damage from diabetes known as diabetic neuropathy causes loss of sensation removing the protective threshold from the feet and ankle regions. This allows wounds, sores, abrasions and injuries to go unnoticed and untreated.
As a diabetic it is extremely important to check your feet and shoes at the beginning and end of each day. Check your shoes prior to putting them on each day to ensure that they’re fitting properly and that they do not have foreign material within them. These simple, ordinary techniques can help you avoid injuries that can be limb threatening. Medicare currently offers a diabetic shoe program to assist diabetics and physicians in preventing wound development and limb loss. Dr. Francis Clark at The Foot and Ankle Institute of Utah is licensed and certified with Medicare CMS to provide diabetic shoes through this extraordinarily beneficial ulcer and limb loss prevention program.
Many amputations and limb loss is preventable when the patient and physicians act together as a team in the treatment of the diabetic population.
Treatments provided at The Foot and Ankle Institute of Utah:
- Diabetic wound care
- Diabetic Infections
- Skin and soft tissue grafts
- EpiFix placental stem cell grafts
- UltraMist Ultrasonic Wound therapy
- Diabetic Shoes
- Diabetic orthotics and shoe inserts
- Wound Offloading
- Surgical correction of wound producing deformities
- Charcot foot care
- CROW boots for Charcot disease
- Ankle Foot Orthoses (AFO)
- KCI Wound VAC Therapy for Chronic and acute Diabetic wounds