If you have a non-healing diabetic foot wound or venous ulcer, you might consider foot and limb salvage to avoid amputation. Your doctor can remove damaged tissues and recommend skin grafts for your tissues to heal. Atlanta foot and limb salvage involves surgical procedures to remove damaged or dead tissues while preserving healthy ones.
The process aims to stimulate healing and prevent disease progression.
What does the process involve?
Your treatment approach will depend on your condition, needs, and goals. During foot and limb salvage surgery, your podiatrist can remove dead tissues, including soft tissues and bones. Afterward, they can clean your wound and inject you with solutions to stimulate healing.
Recovery
Your healthcare provider will create a follow-up recovery plan that involves treating infections and stimulating recovery. Your wound care process will include wound cleaning and dead tissue removal. Your specialist can recommend topical creams for your wounds and antibiotics for infected ulcers.
To accelerate recovery, your specialist can introduce restorative cell therapies which boost your body’s chance of cell renewal. As you recover, your podiatry team will guide you through a safe return to walking, and they might recommend custom orthotics and diabetic shoes.
Goals of foot and limb salvage
Foot and limb salvage surgery aims to reduce your risk of infection and amputation. Your goals will depend on your condition and the severity of its symptoms. The following are common goals of foot and limb salvage procedures:
Remove dead and infected tissues
Serious infections and lack of sufficient blood flow lead to the death of tissues. Your tissues can turn black and hard, leading to pain, swelling, and difficulty in movement. During foot and limb salvage surgery, your podiatrist will remove dead and infected tissues to prevent disease progression.
Repair weakened tissues
Dead or infected tissues, whether muscle, bone, or connective tissues, can lead to weakened surrounding tissues. Your doctor will repair the weakened tissues to restore your limb’s function. They might use techniques like replacing tissues using skin grafts from healthier parts of your body. Your specialist can recommend bone grafts or implants if you have damaged bone tissues.
Stabilize repaired bones
Weakened connective and bone tissues can lead to instability affecting your balance and mobility capability. To improve your balance, your doctor will suggest internal or external artificial components to stabilize your bones or joints.
Improve blood circulation in your lower limbs
Healthy tissues, regular movement, and healthy blood vessels promote sufficient blood circulation. However, if you have conditions like chronic venous insufficiency or a venous ulcer, your tissues will likely not get enough blood. Once your podiatrist removes dead and repairs damaged tissues, you can promote better blood circulation during recovery.
If you have a venous ulcer or non-healing wound due to diabetes, visit Modern Podiatry for foot and limb salvage surgery. The team at the facility will consider your condition and symptoms before creating a personalized treatment plan. Call or book your appointment online today and reduce your chances of limb amputation.
