Every 30 seconds, a diabetic finger or the whole limb is amputated across the world. A majority of such cases can be prevented with early diagnosis and good management including diet control and monitored exercise.
That was the startling welcome from Dr. G.N. Sastry, Director of the Hyderabad facility of Dr. Mohan’s Diabetes Speciality Centre at the inaugural of Dr. Mohan’s Diabetes Foot Symposium here on Sunday. Dr. Martin Yorath, a podiatric physician and surgeon from the U.S., spoke on ‘Advances in management of Charcot Foot’ quoted WHO statistics that put the number of diabetics globally at 382 million.
India now has about 50 million diabetics, he said, focussing on ‘Charcot Foot’ a diabetes of the ankle and foot.
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Dr. Pinjala Ramakrishna of the Nizam’s Institute of Medical Science here spoke on ‘Dysvascular Foot’ and explained how low blood supply to the lower limbs if neglected, led to amputation and how the condition could be rectified by balloon angioplasty to dilate narrow blood vessels.
Endocrinologist R.P. Mathur pointed out that 70 per cent of lower limb amputations were because of diabetes and that it could be prevented with a bit of management.
Orthopaedician Dr. K.V. Prasad, recalled that osteoporosis and diabetes were two words that struck terror in any orthopaedic surgeon.
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This was because of the degree of difficulty that brittle and weak bones due to osteoporosis came with during surgery and the way diabetics were prone to infection.