Diabetes Foot Clinic
The Diabetes Foot Clinic, initiated in 2009, is conducted every Tuesday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The clinic adopts a multidisciplinary and holistic approach to the management of diabetes-related foot conditions. The care team includes endocrinologists, vascular surgeons, prosthetics experts from the Artificial Limb Centre, physiotherapists, and diabetes educators.
The clinic emphasizes prevention, early identification, timely intervention, and comprehensive rehabilitation of diabetic foot conditions, with the goal of reducing ulcer recurrence, preventing amputations, and improving patient outcomes and quality of life.
Diabetes Foot Disease and Diabetes Foot Clinic
Diabetes mellitus is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by chronic hyperglycaemia resulting from inadequate insulin secretion, reduced tissue sensitivity to insulin, or a combination of both. Persistent hyperglycaemia leads to a range of microvascular and macrovascular complications, including peripheral neuropathy, peripheral vascular disease, increased susceptibility to foot infections, and impaired wound healing.
Diabetic foot disease is one of the most serious and debilitating complications of diabetes. It is defined as a spectrum of conditions in which neuropathy, ischemia, and infection contribute to tissue breakdown, ulceration, and, in severe cases, limb amputation. The lifetime risk of developing a diabetic foot ulcer among individuals with diabetes is estimated to be between 15% and 25%, and diabetic foot ulcers precede approximately 85% of diabetes-related amputations. The risk of lower limb amputation in individuals with diabetes is nearly fifteen times higher than in those without diabetes, with 50%–70% of all non-traumatic lower limb amputations attributed to diabetic foot disease. Globally, a lower limb is lost to diabetes approximately every 20 seconds, making it the leading cause of non-traumatic lower limb amputations worldwide.
Diabetic foot disease significantly impairs quality of life and adversely affects productivity, social participation, and livelihood. Importantly, it remains a largely preventable cause of amputation in the majority of cases. Diabetes-related amputations are also associated with increased morbidity and mortality, highlighting the importance of early detection and comprehensive management.
Diabetes mellitus is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by chronic hyperglycaemia resulting from either inadequate insulin production, reduced tissue sensitivity to insulin or both. Chronic hyperglycaemia leads to various micro and macrovascular complications including peripheral neuropathy, peripheral vascular disease, increased risk of foot infection and poor wound healing.
Diabetic foot disease is one of the most devastating and a significant complication of diabetes and is defined as a group of syndromes in which neuropathy, ischemia and infection lead to tissue breakdown and possible amputation. The lifetime risk for the development of a diabetic foot ulcer in patients with diabetes ranges from 15- 25 % and this is known to precede amputation in 85% of the cases. The rate of lower limb amputation in patients with DM is fifteen times higher than in patients without diabetes and approximately 50%-70% of all lower limb amputations are due to DFU. Every 20 seconds a lower limb is lost due to diabetes in the world and it is the most common cause of non-traumatic lower limb amputation. It can impair patients quality of life and affect productivity, social participation and livelihood as well. It is preventable cause of amputation in majority of cases. It goes without saying that these amputations increase mortality rate.
Diabetes Foot Clinic is on every Tuesdays from 8:00-4:00pm, which the team includes the Endocrinologists, Vascular Surgeons Expert from Artificial Limp Centre, Physiotherapists, and Diabetes Educators, who emphasize the holistic concepts in the management of Diabetes Foot related diseases.
