Thursday, June 27, 2013

Amniotic Membrance can save your feet!!!

Posted by Dr. Brooke Austin

Nerve disease caused by type-2 Diabetes accounts for half of all amputations in the U.S., but a new treatment is helping patients keep their limbs.  And it comes from a pregnant woman!

The amniotic fluid membrane comes from donors from an FDA approved laboratory.

People with diabetes are more likely to have a foot, toe, or leg amputated than other people.  It happens because diabetics have blood vessel disease, which reduces blood flow to the feet, and nerve disease, that reduces sensation in the feet.  These two conditions together cause sores and infections that may lead to amputation.  Despite changes in care over the years, foot, toe, and leg amputations are still common.  Research has been able to show links between risk factors like high blood pressure and high blood glucose and a person’s chance of having a lower-extremity amputation.  However, more research needs to be done in order to evaluate which patients with diabetes are most at risk. 

We now have amniotic membrane and fluid that is cryopreserved. So it can be used on anybody at anytime and anywhere. We don't have to have a live birth to collect it, and it can be harvested in very clean, sterile conditions. We inject it in and around the wound, and it enhances the healing.

A diabetic ulcer happens when diabetics lose sensation in their feet.  It’s called neuropathy, and it happens gradually.  Because of the loss of sensation Diabetics may get a cut and don’t even know it.  That cut could then become infected and the wound can erode through the skin and down to the bone.  Even a small diabetic ulcer can become life or limb-threatening.  The membrane has mesenchymal stem cells, which have all of the nutritional materials the tissue needs to heal.  It stimulates the body very aggressively to start to create healthy tissue. 

If you are Diabetic, or know someone who is make sure they have their feet checked at least once per year by a podiatrist. Prevention is key.

Call the office today for a comprehensive Diabetic foot exam or to learn more about Amniotic membrane.  239-566-8800

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