Mohammad Dawood Okaz/Saudi Gazette JEDDAH — A study conducted by three general hospitals in Jeddah pointed out that foot ulcer resulting from diabetes was the main cause of limb amputations. Dr. Hasan Al-Zahrani, surgery professor and vascular surgery consultant at King Abdulaziz University, said clinical symptoms of 128 of diabetics were reviewed. He said toe amputations were the most common, followed by leg amputations below the knee, followed by above-the-knee amputations. The average patient's age was 63 years old, and the males-to-females ratio of patients was 3:1. He added that only 12.5 percent of surgery patients were rehabilitated. Al-Zahrani pointed out that foot ulcer is a serious problem, since diabetic patients are not aware of it. Nerve damage causes loss of feeling in the foot, and thus of feeling pain. People with diabetes stand a 25 percent higher risk of foot amputation than those without the disease. Globally, diabetes is the major cause of foot amputation, with the rate of one amputation a minute. Education, awareness and prevention can play an important role in lowering diabetic foot ulcer, the expert added.
