Doha, Qatar: Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) has set a new standard for advanced treatment methods that not only improve the condition of patients but also significantly contribute to reducing limb and foot amputations.
By adopting a holistic approach to diabetic foot management, HMC is rewriting the narrative for diabetes-related complications, saving limbs, and transforming patients’ lives.
In an awareness video by the Advanced Wound Management Department at Hamad General Hospital (HGH), experts say the multidisciplinary healthcare team at HMC ensures the implementation of a new approach, which involves obtaining the latest integrated healthcare methods to save diabetic foot and lives.
“With the increasing rates of diabetes worldwide, the suffering of patients from the condition and its complications, including diabetic foot, is also increasing, said Senior Consultant Surgery Department, Director Wound Services at HMC’s HGH and Hazm Mebaireek General Hospital (HMGH),” Dr Rashad Alfkey, adding that interdisciplinary teams provide integrated care at diabetic foot clinics and surgical services ensure significant outcomes.
By leveraging the latest advancements in diabetic foot care, such as advanced wound healing techniques, bioengineered skin substitutes, and state-of-the-art vascular interventions, HMC has successfully managed to arrest the progression of debilitating foot ulcers and prevent the need for amputations in many cases.
The Podiatry Department at the Ambulatory Care Centre has a specialist Diabetic Foot and Wound Care Clinic, which provides outstanding care for all patients with lower extremity and diabetic wound needs using the most advanced techniques. The services enable patients to live a healthy life and prevent, wherever possible, any re-occurrence of the condition being treated.
National Diabetes Centers at HMC provide patients with various services, including foot care and diabetic education, and the Wound Advanced Care units at HMC provide the latest modern surgical developments and techniques in wound care for the diabetic foot.
Dr. Alfkey says that most complications of diabetes, including foot ulcers and amputations, can be prevented if patients have access to good healthcare and the appropriate information.
He urges people with diabetes to “be diligent in taking care of your foot and follow preventive measure and care techniques to avoid diabetic foot complications.”
Dr. Alfkey was speaking as part of the ‘Diabetic limb salvage awareness campaign’ aimed at educating the public and, specifically, diabetic patients at risk of foot ulcers and leg amputation, increasing their knowledge of signs and symptoms of this disease, and encouraging them to take care of their own feet.
Vice Chairman of Surgery and Head of General Surgery at HMC, Dr Mohamed Elakkad, said, “Our message to all diabetes patients is to take care of your foot.”
“Save Feet, Save Lives,” he added.
HMC also held awareness activities on ‘Diabetic limb salvage’ at public venues such as shopping malls recently.
Diabetes is a chronic and complex condition affecting approximately 415 million people worldwide.
In Qatar and the Gulf region, Type 2 diabetes is a significant health challenge. Experts say that diabetic foot problems are the result of two common complications of diabetes: reduced blood flow and nerve damage.
Diabetic foot disease is the leading cause of diabetes-related hospitalisation and has mortality rates comparable to many cancers.
