Diabetic foot reconstruction doubles survival rate without amputation скачать в хорошем качестве

Diabetic foot reconstruction doubles survival rate without amputation

Among the complications of diabetes is one known as 'diabetic foot,' a condition caused by poor blood circulation to the feet. When it is advanced, the foot may become necrotic, with black rotting flesh. And in many cases, amputation is the final outcome. Now, a team at AMC led by Dr. Joon Pio Hong, an associate professor in AMC's Department of Plastic Surgery, has published research findings showing that 5-year survival rates can be doubled, without resorting to amputation, through microsurgical reconstruction of diabetic foot. In twenty-five percent of patients with diabetes, the foot becomes ulcerated. Every thirty seconds, a patient with diabetic foot undergoes foot amputation! In this frightening disease, the likelihood of having to amputate the other foot within two years of the first amputation is as high as fifty percent. And even when the leg is amputated, six out of ten people die within five years. After performing 121 cases of diabetic foot reconstruction from 2002 through 2011, Dr. Hong's team found that the five-year survival rate was 86.8%. This is more than double the five-year survival rate of 41.4% that occurs with diabetic foot amputation. Dr. Joon Pio Hong / Dept. of Plastic Surgery We could speculate on many reasons for the improved survival rate of non-amputees, but between the amputation group and surviving group, there are no substantive differences. One factor may be the positive effect and psychological stability non-amputees receive from being able to live or exercise more normally. This may lead to a virtuous cycle that ultimately influences the five-year survival rate. Patients with diabetes must monitor their feet closely. Finding even the smallest scratch requires seeing a specialist for treatment. [AMC International News, April 2013]