Innovations in Diabetic Wound Care

From comprehensive assessments to cutting-edge therapies, innovations in diabetic wound care are changing the way podiatrists treat foot ulcers and other wounds. At Podiatry Hotline, Inc., we strive to stay up-to-date on the most innovative trends and treatments in diabetic wound care, allowing us to provide the best treatments in Orange County.

Foot ulcers are open sores that can result from improperly managed diabetes. With an average of 15% of individuals with diabetes developing foot ulcers, diabetic wounds continue to threaten millions of Americans with serious infections and limb amputations each year.

Since diabetes can also damage your nerves, it often leads to neuropathy, especially in your feet and lower legs. Neuropathy makes your feet numb, meaning you don’t feel sensation, and sores can quickly develop on the soles of your feet and toes. They often go unnoticed until the sores fester.

Diabetic ulcers are slow to heal due to a reduction in blow flow from your diabetes. Ulcers are the leading cause of diabetic hospitalizations, so it’s important to have access to proper medical care.

With modern innovations in diabetic wound care, the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of foot ulcers and other wounds continue to improve outcomes and make life less painful for the 30 million Americans who suffer from diabetes.

Modern wound assessments

When it comes to providing the right care for diabetic wounds, treatment starts with a thorough wound assessment.

Traditionally, assessments included a measurement of the length and width of the wound to determine its severity. Your doctor would determine the depth by sticking an implement into the wound to determine how deep the sore went.

While this can give your doctor an idea of the wound size, it isn’t always an accurate portrayal. The wound may not be uniform in shape or could have deep pockets where abscesses are more likely to form. It also increases the risk of infections and can cause discomfort for the patient.

Now, with modern imaging, we’re able to move on from the standard two-dimensional view of a foot ulcer and see it in three dimensions. State-of-the-art ultrasound imaging can detect soft tissue damage and give actual shape to your ulcer. This allows us to see the full extent of your wound and address it accordingly.

Innovative skin substitutes

Perhaps the most innovative advances have been made with skin substitutes. Skin substitutes assist in closing open wounds and protecting the body from outside pathogens.

Skin substitutes come in a variety of forms and the type that’s best for your foot wound depends on several factors. We may recommend one that contains growth factors to help your skin heal, antibiotics to help you fight infection, or living fibroblasts to encourage skin growth and healing.

From comprehensive assessments to cutting-edge therapies, innovations in diabetic wound care are changing the way podiatrists treat foot ulcers and other wounds. At Podiatry Hotline, Inc., we strive to stay up-to-date on the most innovative trends and treatments in diabetic wound care, allowing us to provide the best treatments in Orange County.

Foot ulcers are open sores that can result from improperly managed diabetes. With an average of 15% of individuals with diabetes developing foot ulcers, diabetic wounds continue to threaten millions of Americans with serious infections and limb amputations each year.

Since diabetes can also damage your nerves, it often leads to neuropathy, especially in your feet and lower legs. Neuropathy makes your feet numb, meaning you don’t feel sensation, and sores can quickly develop on the soles of your feet and toes. They often go unnoticed until the sores fester.

Diabetic ulcers are slow to heal due to a reduction in blow flow from your diabetes. Ulcers are the leading cause of diabetic hospitalizations, so it’s important to have access to proper medical care.

With modern innovations in diabetic wound care, the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of foot ulcers and other wounds continue to improve outcomes and make life less painful for the 30 million Americans who suffer from diabetes.

Modern wound assessments

When it comes to providing the right care for diabetic wounds, treatment starts with a thorough wound assessment.

Traditionally, assessments included a measurement of the length and width of the wound to determine its severity. Your doctor would determine the depth by sticking an implement into the wound to determine how deep the sore went.

While this can give your doctor an idea of the wound size, it isn’t always an accurate portrayal. The wound may not be uniform in shape or could have deep pockets where abscesses are more likely to form. It also increases the risk of infections and can cause discomfort for the patient.

Now, with modern imaging, we’re able to move on from the standard two-dimensional view of a foot ulcer and see it in three dimensions. State-of-the-art ultrasound imaging can detect soft tissue damage and give actual shape to your ulcer. This allows us to see the full extent of your wound and address it accordingly.

Innovative skin substitutes

Perhaps the most innovative advances have been made with skin substitutes. Skin substitutes assist in closing open wounds and protecting the body from outside pathogens.

Skin substitutes come in a variety of forms and the type that’s best for your foot wound depends on several factors. We may recommend one that contains growth factors to help your skin heal, antibiotics to help you fight infection, or living fibroblasts to encourage skin growth and healing.

PRP and Other Cutting-edge healing techniques

In addition to treating your wound, we also consider the body’s slow healing process. To enhance your body’s ability to heal, we may discuss different regenerative procedures.

Platelet-rich plasma therapy (PRP) can also improve how your body heals. By using the growth factors in your own blood, we can stimulate the production of stem cells in and around your foot wound, improving your body’s healing response. This technique restores and enhances your body’s healing ability and can also decrease inflammation and pain. PRP gives you faster healing and less downtime. In some cases, it can even prevent the need for more invasive surgical procedures.

We also offer stem cell therapy. This form of regenerative medicine provides similar benefits as PRP. We use humanely-derived stem cells obtained through placental tissue (not fetal), a procedure sometimes called Sometimes called placental therapy.

In addition, certain low-frequency ultrasounds often helpful in stimulating cellular growth as well as kill infection-causing bacteria.

Recently, hyperbaric oxygen treatments, which are often given to deep scuba divers, have shown to benefit those with diabetic wounds. By having you breathe in highly compressed air, your body is able to consume more oxygen and deliver it to your treatment area. This increase in oxygen encourages wound-healing and stimulates the production of stem cells and other growth factors.

Regardless of the severity of your diabetic wounds, you need a foot and ankle specialist who stays up-to-date on the newest and most innovative concepts in wound care. Call us today to learn more or schedule your appointment online.