Diabetic Foot Syndrome – A New Surgery Method Prevents Amputation

Diabetic foot syndrome (DFS), also known colloquially as "diabetic foot", is a syndrome associated with diabetes mellitus that most commonly occurs in patients with type 2 diabetes. These are skin sores (ulcerations) that grow deeper and deeper into the foot and into the bone and are colonized with germs that prevent normal wound healing.

The reasons for this lie in the circulatory disorders of the extremities that are typical of diabetes and / or the reduced sensation of pain due to the so-called diabetic neuropathy. Injuries are not noticed in time or are ignored.

The so-called diabetic foot is the most common cause of non-accident amputations. In Germany alone, 50,000 amputations are performed each year. Amputation is usually the method of choice for severe, protracted or frequently recurring infections on the diabetic foot.

The prognosis is poor, especially for major amputations (amputation above the ankle region). Within 4 years after amputation of the first leg, more than 50 percent of diabetics have to amputate the second leg.

The method is that not the whole foot is amputated but only the bone parts that are infected. replaced by our bone grafts loaded with antibiotics. The high local concentrations that these give off subsequently eliminate any remaining bacteria so that the wound can primarily be closed.

In the Osteitis Center Döbling we can even treat patients with stage 3 - that is, with far advanced damage, for whom amputation is already being considered with conventional treatment. With our method most cases can be cured with just one operation.

Even if an amputation is inevitable, it is often possible to keep this as low as possible. The length of stay in the clinic depends on the size of the defect and is approx. 3 days for damage to the forefoot and a maximum of 2 weeks for larger defects.

Find out more: www.osteitiszentrum-doebling.at/en.

Please contact us for further information or appointments!

Contact:

Döbling Private Hospital

Heiligenstädter Straße 55-63
1190 Vienna • Austria

T: +43 1 360 66-7755
E: international@pkd.at