Team Approach Benefits Diabetics

If you're diabetic, ever wonder why the doctor is always checking your feet? Foot problems -- infections, wounds that won't heal, warping bones -- are the most common reason diabetics wind up in the hospital. Each year diabetics undergo more than 80,000 amputations of toes, feet and lower legs -- many of them preventable say medical experts. A new team approach to treating diabetics is proving beneficial in decreasing the need for amputation. Good news for America's 21 million diabetics.

The team approach brings together podiatrists and vascular surgeons, specialists who rarely work side-by-side, to treat developing problems in their earliest stages. Using the team approach, diabetics can receive proper foot care immediately. "It gets them everything they need right away, without months of waiting," said podiatrist Dr. John Steinberg, a member of Georgetown University Hospital's limb-salvage team.

Diabetics are unable to property regulate blood sugar, or glucose. Over the years, high levels of glucose damage blood vessels resulting in poor circulation and other complications. Foot ulcers that refuse to heal are a common problem for diabetics. Coupled with neuropathy (loss of sensation) and poor blood flow, ulcers may become gangrenous as tissue dies. Amputation is often the only way to stop the cycle which can be very painful and debilitating. The goal of the new team approach is to aggressively treat all causes of foot problems to prevent amputation.