by Stephen A. Brigido, DPM.
What are diabetic foot ulcers?
Diabetic foot ulcers are slow-to-heal sores, appearing on the foot or ankle,
as a result of a combination of loss of nervous sensation and poor circulation.
This serious side-effect of diabetes afflicts 15 percent of the diabetic population,
and is the primary cause of hospital admissions for all diabetics. Over 80,000
lower-limb amputations occur each year in the diabetic population, 85 percent
of which are preceded by foot ulcers that are not treated sufficiently. The
good news is that new treatment options now exist to heal diabetic foot ulcers
before they become infected and necessitate amputation.
How do you treat diabetic foot ulcers?
Conventional treatment for diabetic foot ulcers includes removal and cleansing
of the affected tissue, dressing the wound and off_loading the treated foot
in a special cast or off-loading boot until the wound heals sufficiently. In
patients where these treatments fail to close the wound, the chance of infection
and amputation are increased, and patients are forced to make additional trips
to their physicians' offices, burdening their schedules and pocketbooks. For
these reasons, more aggressive treatment options have been developed. One of
the more aggressive treatments on the market is an ulcer repair matrix called
GRAFTJACKET, which has been shown to heal foot ulcers after just one application
of the graft.
What is GRAFTJACKET?
The GRAFTJACKET family of products is composed of human dermal tissue components,
and is readily accepted by the body. It serves as a repair matrix that is rapidly
converted to the patient's own tissue by quickly renewing blood, cellular and
nutrient activity throughout the matrix. Over time, the tissue graft aids in
the repair of the wound and is replaced by tissue like the patient's own.
What benefits does GRAFTJACKET offer to patients and physicians?
GRAFTJACKET can require only one application to repair a diabetic foot ulcer
-- reducing the time and cost of recovery. Additionally, GRAFTJACKET Ulcer Repair
Matrix is a strong tissue graft, which results in improved suture retention
and higher likelihood of a successful repair.
To learn more about treating diabetic foot ulcers, or about GRAFTJACKET®,
contact Stephen A. Brigido, DPM, at 570-420-8080, or visit (www.wmt.com/graftjacket/).