Diabetic Foot Surgery - Know Forms Of It!

If you are suffering from diabetes, you are likely to observe some problems with your feet due to high sugar levels. You may suffer from a disease such as diabetic neuropathy and peripheral vascular disease. These problems may lead to serious complications later on. Most foot problems for diabetic patients are one of the primary reasons for foot amputations.

Both surgical and non-surgical procedures are used for treating these foot problems.

Common diabetic foot problems

• Diabetic neuropathy

If your diabetes is left uncontrolled, it can lead to numbness in the feet. This is because diabetes can damage the nerves in your feet. This condition will make it difficult for you to feel irritation, infection or some soreness in the feet. If you experience a cut in your foot, you will not be able to sense it. The chances of cuts, blisters and sores also increase.

As the muscles in the foot are damaged, you may not be able to align them properly. Lack of treatment in this area may lead to gangrene or infection. The foot might require amputation.

• Peripheral vascular disease

As diabetes affects the flow of blood, sore or cuts in the feet may take longer to heal. This poor blood flow is called peripheral vascular disease. In this disease, the harmful fatty deposits can block your blood vessels beyond your heart and brain.

The condition might lead to severe pain in the foot that might need an amputation.

Symptoms of diabetic foot problems

The symptoms can vary from person to person and depends upon the condition you are suffering from. The common symptoms include – 

• Numbness or a loss of feeling

• Painful tingling in the feet

• Stains on the socks

• Discolouration of the skins

• Wounds or blisters that may be painless

• Swelling 

If you have developed an infection, you may observe the following symptoms – 

• High or uncontrollable blood sugar

• Fever

• Chills

• Shaking

Treatment

The treatment procedure will depend upon the severity of the condition. The common methods are as follows – 

Surgical methods

If non-surgical methods for treatment are not effective to cure the foot problems, these methods are applied – 

• The sections of the foot that have been infected such as the area below or above the knee or the toes might require amputation

• Surgical removal of the dead tissues of the foot

• Endovascular surgery where metal stents are placed within the legs to keep the blood vessels open

• Arterial bypass surgery for the peripheral vascular disease to enhance the blood flow in the area

Non-Surgical methods

These are used as the initial approach to treating diabetic foot-related problems. 

• Immobilization devices or special footgear might be prescribed to reduce the pressure in the affected area of the foot. These may include total contact casts or cast boot.

Laser applications   

Apart from the methods discussed above, Low-Level Laser Therapy is another non-invasive approach for curing diabetic foot problems. This is being used nowadays for treating open wounds. Type 2 diabetic patients with diabetic foot ulcer of grade 2 and 3 are treated using this process.

The laser therapy is applied using local irradiation of the ulcer bed along with red light. Intravenous laser irradiation along with a red light laser is also used in the process. The procedure has not any side effects.

To prevent any foot problems wash them regularly and check feet regularly for any infections. Follow the instructions if your doctor and take the necessary medications for diabetes.