• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • Subscribe
  • Join Newsletter
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Vote Best of Business
  • Login

Flagstaff Business News

Northern Arizona’s premier source for business, education and health news.

VOTING IS NOW CLOSED
The deadline for voting was midnight on January 15, 2022

Best of Business 2022 – Flagstaff Business News

  • Business
  • Columnists
  • Community Profile
  • Local News
  • Tourism
  • Calendar
  • Spotlight
  • Digital Issues
You are here: Home / Columnists / Limb Loss Awareness Month Can Save Lives

Limb Loss Awareness Month Can Save Lives

April 6, 2022 By FBN 1 Comment

Being aware of these conditions makes a difference. There are steps you can take to lower your risk of complications.

There are approximately 150,000 leg amputations every year in the U.S. that are not related to an accident. That number is staggering. However, awareness that it could happen to anyone, and being aware of the causes, can potentially save a limb.

Poor circulation plays a role in more than half of all surgical amputations. Conditions like diabetes and peripheral artery disease (PAD) affect blood flow to the legs and feet, putting people at a higher risk of losing a limb. “If you have both PAD and diabetes, your risk is even higher,” warned Dr. Diana Perry of Comprehensive Integrated Care (CIC) in Flagstaff.

A chronic wound also can lead to amputation. A wound can be anything from a scrape that never really heals to an open sore that doesn’t close or slowly gets bigger, but never better. According to the National Institutes of Health, more than six million people in the U.S. are affected by slow or non-healing wounds. “This high number worries me because if it’s not treated, a chronic wound can lead to an amputation or even death,” said Perry. “If you have an amputation because of a wound, your risk of dying within five years is higher than if you had some [form of] cancer.”

Being aware of these conditions makes a difference. There are steps you can take to lower your risk of complications. The first thing you can do is to notice how your legs feel. “PAD is often felt in the legs or feet first. Patients notice burning, tingling, cramping or wounds that won’t heal,” explained Dr. Joel Rainwater, M.D., endovascular specialist and chief medical officer of CIC. “The good news about PAD is that there’s hope. There is treatment and it’s excellent,” explained Rainwater. A minimally invasive procedure is done in an office setting and patients are home within hours and back to everyday activities with almost no downtime, no stitches and no overnight hospital stay. Medicare as well as most insurance plans will cover treatment.

If you are living with diabetes, you need to pay attention to your feet as well. “One of the most important things people with diabetes can do to lower their risk for amputation is to check their feet every day,” said Perry. “Sores, redness, swelling and any other changes to the way your feet look or feel should be reported to your doctor right away. Watching to see if something will go away on its own may let a small problem become a big problem in a hurry.”

It’s important to seek help at the first sign of any issue, there is nothing to be gained from waiting. And regular visits to a foot doctor help manage foot health and potentially reduce or prevent complications from occurring. Perry says, “When I work with a patient, I know that together, we can lower the risks of many of the problems diabetics face.”

Once identified, it’s important to start treatment. Because there are many different processes involved with limb preservation, the best opportunity for success is with a team approach. A primary care physician, podiatrist and wound care specialist all take part in controlling diabetes, hypertension, cholesterol and wound management. An endovascular specialist evaluates circulation and can do a procedure to help blood flow, a key component of healing a wound and saving a limb.

“It’s all about doing our best to help prevent a condition from leading to dangerous consequences,” said Perry. “There are treatments available that have the potential to save a limb.” Don’t let a lack of awareness put you at risk for loss of limb. FBN

By Reisha Zang

Dr. Diana Perry, DPM, specializes in limb preservation and trauma of the foot. She can be reached at CiC 928-719-7400.

Reisha Zang is director of communication at CiC. You may contact her at 928-719-7400 or reisha.zang@ciccenters.com.

Filed Under: Columnists Tagged With: CiC, Comprehensive Integrated Care, Reisha Zang

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Wayne Renardson says

    April 8, 2022 at 4:04 AM

    Anyone with or facing amputation is invited to subscribe to AMP-L, a listserv for amputees at the University of Washington. AMP-L was created in December 1995 by fourteen people who wanted a forum to discuss ideas relevant to amputation. Originally hosted by the University of Pittsburgh, it moved to the University of Washington in December 1998.

    To SUBSCRIBE to AMP-L visit

    Subscribe to Amp-L by filling out the form. You must include your FULL name. Failure to do so will result in removal. You will be sent e-mail requesting confirmation which prevents others from gratuitously subscribing you. AMP-L is a hidden list, which means that the list of
    members/subscribers is available only to the list administrator for the sake of privacy.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Join Newsletter

Categories

  • Business
  • Business Calendar
  • Columnists
  • Community Profile
  • Elections
  • FBN Spotlight
  • Local News
  • On the Grid – Podcast
  • Sedona
  • Tourism
  • Video Spotlight
  • Williams
  • Winslow

Footer

Advertisement

Get FBN Email

COPYRIGHT © 2023 | FLAGSTAFF BUSINESS NEWS