Treating Chronic Wounds and Diabetic Foot Ulcers

In this episode of The PODdoctors podcast, Dr. Damien Dauphinee, a board-certified foot and ankle surgeon, and Dr. Raafae Hussain, fellowship trained foot and ankle surgeon, talk about the common chronic wounds or ulcers they see every day, particularly diabetic foot ulcers, and how to treat them.

QUOTES:

“Probably the most common that we’ll see is your neuropathic, aka your diabetic, foot ulcer. This is when you have uncontrolled diabetes, you have that neuropathy, you have that poor healing potential, and they end up walking until they get a sore, typically on the bottom of their foot, on a high-pressure spot. These are things we’re able to take care of if we stay ahead of it.” - Dr. Raafae Hussain [04:51]

“It’s probably more important to get rid of the dead tissue, the broken-down collagen in the wound bed, than it is to use a silver dressing to prevent infection.” - Dr. Damien Dauphinee [18:23]

“Every day a wound is open, especially in diabetic patients, is another chance for that to get infected. So, we really need to use whatever advanced therapy that we can get ahold of to get that wound closed rapidly because the expenses in these wounds are not in the stuff we’re using to treat them. The expensive stuff is the amputation, the six weeks of antibiotics, the 3-4 trips to the hospital.” - Dr. Damien Dauphinee [22:40]

Top Takeaways:

• 4 major types of chronic wounds 
• Methods of treating and dressing diabetic foot ulcers
• Santyl vs. Silver dressings: Which is better?
• How to offload diabetic foot ulcers to facilitate healing
• Can you reverse neuropathy in diabetic patients?
• Treating vascular and venous issues in patients with foot ulcers
• Key methods and biologics used in treating chronic wounds

What You Will Learn:

• [00:39] Intro
• [02:07] Common wounds we see on a daily basis & Their causes
• [07:56] Diagnosing and treating ulcers on the feet
• [15:19] Dressing foot ulcers after the first treatment
• [23:33] Offloading diabetic foot ulcers
• [26:47] Important data & statistics on diabetic foot ulcers
• [28:46] Why podiatrists work with vascular specialists
• [36:04] Using hyperbaric oxygen therapy and NPWT to heal wounds
• [46:33] Biologics used for treating wounds
• [52:19] Important takeaways on chronic wounds in diabetic patients
• [57:23] Breaking down a few of Dr. Dauphinee’s past chronic wound cases

Resources:

Visit our website: https://thepoddoctors.com

Book Mentioned: Saving Limbs, Saving Lives: Advanced Treatments for Preventing Amputations in Diabetic Populations by Dr. Damien Dauphinee

Learn more about the Wise Healing Center in Argyle, TX: https://www.wisehealthsystem.com/location/wise-healing-center-argyle