Treatment Options of Diabetic Foot Experience at Mayo Hospital, Lahore.

Abstract

This study was carried out in North Surgical Unit, Mayo Hospital, Lahore, including 170 patients over a period of five years. Different types of lesions include plantar infections, infections on dorsum of foot, cellulitis of foot, paronychia, web space abscess, osteomyelitis of the phalanges, septic fore foot gangrene, whole foot involvement and gas gangrene of foot. The control of diabetes should be achieved by insulin and monitored by serial blood glucose estimations. The principles of treatment are generous incision, wound debridement and careful gentle excision of necrotic tissue along with appropriate antibiotics and proper dressings. Various treatment modalities of treatment offered to these patients were only antibiotics, wound debridement, incision drainage & curettage of abscess, nail extraction and amputation at different levels. If possible, amputations should be avoided by good debridements but once the amputation is needed, it should be planned to be performed once and through the healthy tissue. Physicians should be involved in treatment and also early referral of infected lesions to surgeons at an early stage. Moreover, the education of patient to prevent such lesions is of utmost importance.