Resection of the metatarsal head for diabetic foot ulcers

BACKGROUND: Diabetic foot ulceration is a worldwide health problem. Approximately 15% of the 10 million diabetic patients in the United States will develop a foot ulceration at some time in their lives. The presence of a foot ulcer in this population is extremely debilitating and dramatically increa...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:The American journal of surgery 1998-11, Vol.176 (5), p.436-441
Main Authors: Wieman, T.Jeffery, Mercke, Yekaterina K, Cerrito, Patricia B, Taber, Scott W
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Aged
Amputation
Antibiotics
Biological and medical sciences
Cost-Benefit Analysis
Debridement
Diabetes
Diabetes mellitus
Diabetic Foot - economics
Diabetic Foot - pathology
Diabetic Foot - surgery
Economic analysis
Feet
Female
Foot diseases
Hematoma
Humans
Infections
Leg ulcers
Male
Medical sciences
Metatarsal Bones - surgery
Metatarsus
Middle Aged
Orthopedic surgery
Patients
Plantar ulcers
Retrospective Studies
Statistical analysis
Surgeons
Surgery (general aspects). Transplantations, organ and tissue grafts. Graft diseases
Survival analysis
Treatment Outcome
Ulcers
Wound Healing
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:BACKGROUND: Diabetic foot ulceration is a worldwide health problem. Approximately 15% of the 10 million diabetic patients in the United States will develop a foot ulceration at some time in their lives. The presence of a foot ulcer in this population is extremely debilitating and dramatically increases the risk of lower extremity amputation, accounting for approximately 67,000 lost limbs each year. Additionally, the costs associated with treating foot ulcers in diabetic patients is a major expense in the overall care of this patient group. METHODS: An 11-year retrospective study was conducted to evaluate 101 consecutive patients with diabetic ulcers of the forefoot who were treated using resection of the metatarsal head as the primary means of obtaining wound closure. RESULTS: The results indicate that 88% of the ulcers were healed by using this technique, and relatively more rapidly than would be expected when compared with historical norms. CONCLUSIONS: Resection of the metatarsal head is a safe and relatively inexpensive procedure that facilitates closure of the lesion, helps to control infection, and prevents countless and costly amputations.
ISSN:0002-9610
1879-1883
DOI:10.1016/S0002-9610(98)00235-9