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Amputation Prevention Centers of America offers specialized centers that focus on diabetic foot ulcers and other conditions that can lead to major complications. Care and the chance to heal is the priority to avoid amputation. For more treatment information and to find a center near you, visit their website.
The Diabetes Council provides up-to-date, emerging and reliable information for those suffering from Type 2 diabetes (Diabetes mellitus) and Prediabetes. They recently published an editorial column ‘Diabetes and Amputation: Everything You Need To Know To Avoid Amputation' This is a very informative and useful article providing everything that you need to know about how to avoid an extremity amputation due to diabetes and when to contact your doctor. People with diabetes can be plagued with a whole host of skin and foot problems related to Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD), and to diabetic neuropathy, or nerve damage that occurs from years of high blood sugars. A small nick in the skin can lead to a non-healing ulcer which can quickly turn to gangrene and necessitate amputation. The article includes practical foot and skin care – what you can do to prevent amputation.
Lower Extremity Amputation Prevention (LEAP) from the Health Resources and Services Administration is a comprehensive program that can dramatically reduce lower extremity amputations in individuals with Hansen's disease or any condition that results in loss of protective sensation in the feet. LEAP was developed at the HRSA National Hansen's Disease Program in 1992.
National Diabetes Education Program offers education information for people with diabetes and health education, and business professionals. The National Hospital Discharge Survey data for 1994 indicates that 67,000 people with diabetes underwent one or more lower-extremity amputations. Diabetes is the leading cause of amputation of the lower limbs. Yet it is clear that as many as half of these amputations might be prevented through simple but effective foot care practices. The 1993 landmark study, the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, conclusively showed that keeping blood glucose as close to normal as possible significantly slows the onset and progression of nerve and vascular complications associated with diabetes. This site has many educational resources for people with diabetes to prevent amputation.
Prevention of Contractures By Marijke Vroomen Durning, RN, on the Ottobock website. Contractures of a joint following a limb amputation is a common complication, affecting about 3% to 5% of lower limb amputations, and can begin within days the procedure. When associated with limb loss, contractures occur most often in the joints closest to the amputation, for example, the hip with a transfemoral (above the knee, or AKA) amputation and the knee for a transtibial (below the knee, or BK) amputation. Understandably, caring for the surgical wound and pain management are foremost following such a significant surgery, but contracture prevention should also be an immediate post-operative consideration in order to maximize a patient’s potential post-amputation mobility.
VHA Directive 1410-Prevention of Amputation in Veterans Everwhere (PAVE)Program which outlines the scope of care and treatment provided to Veterans at risk of primary or secondary limb loss.
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