Diabetic foot is one of the most serious complications faced by patients with diabetes – as a result of alterations caused by the disease, such as infections or poor blood circulation – and the main non-traumatic cause for amputation of the lower limbs. Hospital da Luz Clínica da Amadora and Hospital da Luz Clínica de Odivelas have now available a new consultation, General Surgery – Diabetic Foot , directed by general surgeon Carla Menezes . Diabetes: Is a chronic multi-organ disease with increasing prevalence and incidence, being associated with high rates of morbidity and mortality. May cause the onset of complications, such as diabetic foot ulcers (sores), being that 60% of these patients develop infection during treatment and 30-40% aggravate to bone infection. Medical follow-up enables the minimization of the consequences of this complication. In the consultation of General Surgery – Diabetic Foot , is proceeded to: Screening / classification of ulceration risk; Periodic surveillance of the patient, with early identification of lesions or deformities potentially causing ulcers; Prophylactic surgery (surgical correction of deformities potentially ulcerative); Treatment of different types of ulcers, so as to prevent their aggravation and progression; Conservative surgery in the treatment of diabetic foot osteomyelitis; Education of patients and families on precautions to take (for instance, most adequate shoes, particularities of daily self-surveillance, practise of regular physical exercise, and adequate metabolic control). These are some of the signs and symptoms that patients with diabetes should pay attention to : Tingling sensation or loss of sensitivity; Pain, burning sensation or numbness; Extreme sensitivity to touch; Trophic alteration of skin (hair loss, alterations in colour skin, sores); Loss of strength, imbalance, or difficulty in coordinating; Pain triggered by gait, usually around the calves, and which alleviates with rest.
