Up to 25% of patients with diabetes develop a foot ulcer.
More than half of all foot ulcers become infected, requiring hospitalization
and 20% of infections result in amputation. Diabetes contributes approximately
80% of all non-traumatic amputations performed every year. After a major
amputation, 50% of people will have another other limb amputated in two
years.
One person in the world dies of diabetes every ten seconds,
while two new diabetic cases are identified every ten seconds. Every 30
seconds, a diabetic undergoes a major amputation.
It is estimated that there are 40 million people with diabetes
in India currently and by 2025 this number will swell to 70 million. This will
mean that every fifth diabetic in the world would be an Indian.
What is Podiatry? Podiatry
is a field of medicine that focuses on preventing, diagnosing, and treating
conditions associated with the foot, ankle and lower extremities.
Who is a Podiatrist ? Podiatrist
is a highly trained professional in the care of the foot and ankle. Podiatrists
may use methods such as biomechanical, surgical and other treatments. Podiatrists are
recognized as important members of the health care team in preventing and
managing lower limb amputations for those living with diabetes. Podiatrists also
treat foot injuries and infections
gained through sport or other activities. Podiatrists
are sometimes referred to as foot doctors, foot and ankle surgeons, or
podiatric surgeons.
What is Podiatric Surgery ? Podiatric surgery is defined as the surgical treatment of conditions
affecting the foot, ankle and the related lower extremity structures.
In India the most common cause of diabetic foot is the
infected neuropathic foot. There are very few diabetic foot screening programs
and podiatric centers that are available in India which demands a professional multidisciplinary
team approach. Diabetic Foot Care in Podiatry is at a very incipient stage
in India and Diabetic Foot Ulcer complications are increasing at an alarming
pace.
An
ideal Foot Care center may have Podiatrists, Plastic and reconstructive surgeons, vascular
surgeons, rehabilitation and hyperbaric physicians to work together as an
integrated wound care team to cure problem wounds of the foot.
Many patients with diabetic foot ulcers experience
significant disability and may ultimately require amputation during their life
span. Diabetic Foot Wounds
are one of the major complications of diabetes that should be treated by a
podiatrist and are an excellent example of the type of complicated wound which
can be treated with hyperbaric oxygen therapy.
What are Diabetic Foot Ulcers?
Diabetic
Foot ulcers are chronic, complex, or problem wounds of the legs and feet in
people with diabetes. Diabetic
Foot Ulcers that do not heal within three months are usually considered Chronic
and Non Healing. Research shows that approximately 15 percent of all diabetes
patients will develop foot ulcers at some point in their lives.
People with diabetes are particularly
susceptible to diabetic foot ulcers because diabetes can damage nerves in your
legs and feet causing problems with your blood flow, which in turn delays the
process of wound healing.
What are the causes of Diabetic Foot
Ulcers and Non Healing Diabetic Wounds?
Diabetic foot ulcers are caused by
repetitive trauma or pressure on the foot that damage your skin. These problems
can go unnoticed by people with Neuropathy (numbness in your feet) or
Peripheral Vascular Disease (poor blood circulation in your legs).
Diabetes, immobilization, chronic edema, and circulatory problems contribute to
the majority of chronic, non-healing wounds. Other chronic wounds are the
result of traumatic injury, non-healing surgical wounds etc.
A lack
of sufficient oxygen (hypoxia) in the wound bed slows or stops the normal
healing process. Wound healing in people with diabetes is often complicated by
poor blood circulation in the feet and legs.
Diabetic Foot Ulcers are prone to serious bacterial infections that
threaten life and limb.
How do I know if I have a
Chronic, Non-Healing Wound?
If a wound has not improved significantly in four weeks or if it has not
completed the healing process in eight weeks, it should be considered a Chronic
Wound and a Non Healing wound.
In some extreme cases, dead tissue builds up inside and around the
ulcer, which requires surgery to remove – a procedure called debridement. And
if blood flow becomes too restrictive, you may require bypass surgery to help
re-open your arteries. Rarely, diabetic ulcers become too infected or severe to
treat.
As a last resort, amputation may be needed to stop the infection from
spreading throughout the body. Half of amputations performed each year are
related to diabetic wounds.
Wound care specialists classify diabetic foot ulcers using the Wagner
Grade Scale:
Grade
0: No open lesions, but may possess
pre ulcerative lesions, healed ulcers, presence of bone deformity
Grade
1: Superficial ulcer, not involving
subcutaneous tissue
Grade
2: Deep ulcer with penetration
through the subcutaneous tissue, potentially exposing bone, tendon, ligament,
or joint capsule
Grade
3: Deep ulcer with osteitis (bone
inflammation), abscess (pus), or osteomyelitis (bone infection)
Grade
4: Gangrene of digit (toe)
Grade
5: Gangrene of foot requiring
amputation
What is a Wound Healing Center or A Diabetic Foot Care Center?
Plastic and reconstructive
surgeons, vascular surgeons, rehabilitation and hyperbaric physicians work
together as an integrated wound care team to cure problem wounds.
Successful care of problem wounds requires an
integrated team approach together with adjunct Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy ( HBOT ) when
appropriate.
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (
HBOT ) offers interdisciplinary
outpatient care that is highly effective in healing wounds that resist
conventional therapies such as : Complex soft tissue wounds, Diabetic foot
ulcers, Arterial Ulcers, Venous stasis ulcers, Pressure ulcers, Trauma Wounds,
Skin Grafts and Flaps, Necrotizing Soft Tissue Infections, Burns, Neuropathic
Ulcers, Tissue Damage from Radiation
How Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Helps in Healing Diabetic Foot
Ulcers & Chronic Wounds?
Hyperbaric Oxygen
Therapy ( HBOT ) is the process of breathing 100% oxygen in a carefully
controlled, pressurized environment, resulting in increased oxygen delivery to
the body tissues. At pressures greater than normal atmospheric pressure, the
body is able to absorb more oxygen into blood cell, blood plasma, cerebral
spinal and other body fluids. This increased oxygen activity enhances the
body's ability to heal.
The
increased oxygen tension in tissues supports physiologic wound healing,
decreasing edema, enhances oxidative killing of bacteria, increasing cellular
energy production, antibiotic potentiation, neoangionenesis promotion, enhanced
epithelial migration, improved collagen production and granulation-tissue
formulation.
Hyperbaric Oxygen
Therapy (
HBOT ) when used as an adjunct treatment of modality can significantly
improve morbidity and mortality, reduce length of hospital stay, reduces the
need for surgical interventions, lessen the need for surgery or foot
amputations, reduces treatments costs, improves quality of life…
Hyperbaric oxygen
Therapy ( HBOT ) is an effective adjunct to standard modalities for the treatment
of diabetic foot ulcers used in the western world for over twenty years.
In India Hyperbaric
Oxygen Therapy ( HBOT
) has captured the interests of wound care givers and podiatrists as
their counterparts in the western world and will become increasingly an adjunct
treatment to provide healing care for Diabetic Foot Ulcers in diabetic
patients.
To Learn More Click On
The below links:
or To Locate a Hyperbaric Oxygen
Therapy Treatment Center near to you kindly contact:
Cell: 9769 484 123 (or)
9769 006 123 Tel: 91-22-65 655
123
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(The content and information provided within this site is for
informational and educational purposes only. Consult a medical doctor before
pursuing any form of therapy, including Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy. The
Information provided within this site is not to be considered Medical Advice.)
