The "1-4-4-2" Model for the Diabetic Foot Team.

The cause of diabetic foot complications is often multifactorial; therefore, expertise from multiple surgical and medical specialties is warranted for improved clinical outcomes. Teamwork should be carefully coordinated with strategic planning and treatment should be adaptable to the given clinical scenario. This article describes the formation and interplay of an effective multidisciplinary team for the treatment of the diabetic foot analogous to that seen in elite team sports.

Soft Tissue and Osseous Substitutes for the Diabetic Foot.

Several soft tissue and osseous substitutes have become widely available for consideration in diabetic foot and ankle reconstruction. Although autogenous skin and bone grafts remain the gold standard, the diabetic foot often presents with challenging clinical scenarios in which these options are limited or contraindicated. Selection of the appropriate substitute depends on the patient's medical status, type and extent of soft tissue and bone loss, and expected function of the given site. This article reviews several of the specific advanced orthobiologics and their clinical indications.

External Fixation for Surgical Offloading of the Diabetic Foot.

The concept of surgical offloading with external fixation is especially relevant when managing diabetic patients with lower extremity wounds refractory to conservative treatment with traditional offloading. This article provides a case report and review of external fixation as a powerful device in accelerating wound healing and providing correction of osseous deformities simultaneously in the diabetic foot.

Modification of the abductor digiti minimi muscle flap for soft tissue coverage of the diabetic foot.

The local intrinsic abductor digiti minimi muscle flap is ideal for lateral, plantar lateral traumatic or diabetic foot wounds following adequate surgical debridement to eradicate any soft tissue and/or osseous infection. Although the indications and surgical technique have been well-described in the literature, the authors present a unique modification of tunnelling the harvested muscle flap directly from the donor site to the plantar recipient foot wound by maintaining the intact overlying skin island at the surface of the fifth metatarsal base. This modification allows preservation of the patient's skin integrity in this area, thereby minimising potential morbidity at the major pedicle site. After the harvested muscle is tunnelled through the intact skin island, an adjacent local random flap mobilisation, autogenous or allogeneic skin graft can then be used for coverage over the muscle inset if primary wound closure is not feasible. Simultaneous soft tissue or osseous surgical procedures and/or surgical offloading with external fixation at the time of index surgery may be necessary to achieve optimal outcomes. The authors present a modified surgical technique for the abductor digiti minimi muscle flap that can be performed in the surgical reconstruction of a soft tissue wound in patients with diabetic Charcot neuroarthropathy.

Surgical treatment of midfoot Charcot neuroarthropathy with osteomyelitis in patients with diabetes: a systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: A wide range of clinical presentations of Charcot neuroarthropathy of the foot with concomitant osteomyelitis in patients with diabetes has been described. Existing literature provides an equally diverse list of treatment options. The purpose of this systematic review was to assess the outcomes specifically for the surgical management of midfoot Charcot neuroarthropathy with osteomyelitis in patients with diabetes. METHOD: A systematic review was conducted by three independent reviewers using the following databases and search engines: Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Cochrane Library, EMBASE (Excerpta Medica dataBASE), Google Scholar, Ovid, PubMed and Scopus. Search terms used were: Charcot neuroarthropathy, osteoarthropathy, neuro-osteoarthropathy, neurogenic arthropathy, osteomyelitis, midfoot, foot, ankle, diabetes mellitus, ulceration, wound, infection, surgical offloading, diabetic reconstruction, internal fixation, external fixation. Studies meeting the following criteria were included: English language studies, studies published from 1997-2017, patients with diabetes mellitus surgically treated for Charcot neuroarthropathy of the midfoot (specified location) with concomitant osteomyelitis, with or without internal and/or external fixation, follow-up period of six months or more postoperatively, documentation of healing rates, complications, and need for revisional surgery. Studies which were entirely literature reviews, descriptions of surgical-only technique and/or cadaveric studies, patients without diabetes, studies that did not specify location of osteomyelitis and Charcot neuroarthropathy, and treatment proximal to and including Chopart's/midtarsal joint specifically talonavicular, calcaneocuboid, subtalar, ankle were excluded. RESULTS: A total of 13 selected studies, with a total of 114 patients with diabetes of which 56 had surgical treatment for midfoot Charcot neuroarthropathy with osteomyelitis, met the above inclusion criteria and were used for data extraction. CONCLUSION: Surgical intervention for midfoot Charcot neuroarthropathy with osteomyelitis in patients with diabetes demonstrated a relatively high success rate for a range of procedures including debridement with simple exostectomy, arthrodesis with or without internal or external fixation, and advanced soft tissue reconstruction. However, this systematic review emphasises the need for larger, better designed studies to investigate the efficacy and failure rates of surgical treatment in this group of patients.

Surgery for the diabetic foot: A key component of care.

Surgery for acute and chronic diabetic foot problems has long been an integral component of care. While partial foot amputations remain as important diabetic limb-salvaging operations, foot-sparing reconstructive procedures have become equally important strategies to preserve the functional anatomy of the foot while addressing infection, chronic deformities, and ulcerations. A classification of types of diabetic foot surgery is discussed in accordance with the soft tissue status and acuity of the presenting foot problem. This brief overview from the Association for Diabetic Foot Surgeons describes common conditions best treated by surgical interventions, as well as specific indications. While techniques and indications continue to evolve, effective surgical management of the diabetic foot remains an integral component of care as well as for the prevention of recurrent ulceration.

Use of Local Flaps for Soft-Tissue Closure in Diabetic Foot Wounds: A Systematic Review.

"A systematic review was undertaken to assess the outcomes of local random flaps in diabetic foot wound closure. The review was conducted using the following databases: Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Cochrane Library, Excerpta Medica dataBASE, Google Scholar, MEDLINE, Ovid, and PubMed. Search terms were local random flap, diabetes, foot, wound, ulceration, neuropathy, tissue transfer, V-Y, bilobed, monolobed, rotational, advancement, transpositional, rhomboid, and Limberg. English language studies, studies published from 1997 to 2017, patients with diabetes mellitus treated for foot wounds, use of local random flaps, follow-up period of 6 months or more postoperatively, documentation of healing rates, complications, and need for revisional surgery were included. Isolated literature reviews and descriptions of only surgical technique and/or cadaveric studies were excluded. The initial search identified 53 eligible studies with 28 being excluded. The remaining 25 studies used for data extraction had a total of 512 patients in which 199 of these underwent 204 local random flap procedures. Average follow-up for the flaps was approximately >2 years, and successful wound closure at last follow-up was demonstrated in 75.5% of the studied population. Studies were found to be of generally low quality, with the majority composed of retrospective case series. Based on current available evidence found in this systematic review, local random flaps demonstrated a relatively high success rate when utilized for the definitive closure of diabetic foot wounds. However, because of a lack of high-quality evidence and substantial heterogeneity among the studies, the results should be interpreted with caution. Levels of Evidence: Level III: Systematic review.

Use of local intrinsic muscle flaps for diabetic foot and ankle reconstruction: a systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the outcomes of local intrinsic muscle flaps specifically in the surgical reconstruction of foot and ankle wounds in patients with diabetes. METHOD: A systematic review of the literature was conducted by three independent reviewers using several databases and search engines. The following search terms were used: foot, ankle, diabetes mellitus, peripheral neuropathy, Charcot neuroarthropathy, ulceration, wound, muscle, flap, surgical offloading, diabetic reconstruction, local intrinsic, abductor digiti minimi, abductor hallucis, extensor digitorum brevis, flexor digitorum brevis, flexor digiti minimi. Studies meeting the following criteria were included: English language studies, studies published from 1997 to 2017 (inclusive of the last 20 years), patients with diabetes treated for foot and/or ankle wounds, use of local intrinsic muscle flaps, follow-up period of six months or more postoperatively, documentation of healing rates, complications, and need for revisional surgery. Studies that were entirely literature reviews, descriptions of only surgical technique and/or cadaveric studies and patients without diabetes were excluded. RESULTS: A total of 13 selected studies met the above inclusion criteria and were used for data extraction from a total of 113 patients in which 92 local intrinsic muscle flaps were performed for diabetic foot and/or ankle reconstruction, of which 80 (87%) muscle flaps demonstrated success, while 12 (13%) flaps encountered complications. CONCLUSION: Although local intrinsic muscle flaps demonstrated a relatively high success rate when used for the definitive closure of certain diabetic foot and ankle wounds based on existing evidence, our systematic review emphasises the need for more high-quality, larger comparative studies to investigate their efficacy and failure rates in diabetic foot and/or ankle reconstruction.

Medical Imaging and Laboratory Analysis of Diagnostic Accuracy in 107 Consecutive Hospitalized Patients With Diabetic Foot Osteomyelitis and Partial Foot Amputations.

The primary aim of our study was to compare the preoperative diagnostic accuracy of plain radiographic findings with the accuracy of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings for diabetic foot osteomyelitis in hospitalized patients who underwent first-time partial foot amputations with confirmed histopathological specimens positive for osteomyelitis. Second, it was desired to determine whether certain variables within the initial clinical presentation and preoperative laboratory findings were associated with more accurate diagnosis of diabetic foot osteomyelitis in this study population. Finally, it was desired to determine the most common bacterial organisms found in bone and soft-tissue cultures taken intraoperatively and to determine how often the same organism was found in both. After applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria to the initial 329 patients identified through chart review, the final sample size for further analysis was n =107. In this study, after adjusting for the effects of covariates such as age, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and C-reactive protein, plain radiographs seemed to have statistically more significant power than MRI in predicting and diagnosing diabetic foot osteomyelitis. In addition, higher ESR values were confirmed to predict a higher chance of positive diagnosis for diabetic foot osteomyelitis. Furthermore, the presence of positive bacterial identification from intraoperative bone cultures did not always indicate true osteomyelitis on histopathological examination. LEVELS OF EVIDENCE: Level II: Diagnostic study.

Ankle Arthrodiastasis with Circular External Fixation for the Treatment of Posttraumatic Ankle Arthritis.

Ankle arthrodiastasis provides an alternative surgical treatment of the mild to moderate posttraumatic ankle arthritis. Ankle arthrodesis or ankle implant arthroplasty is usually reserved for the end-stage ankle arthritis and after conservative treatment options have been implicated for a long period of time. Ankle joint destructive procedures are often considered for the older and less active population with strict selected surgical criteria and prolonged rehabilitation. In either ankle joint-sparing or ankle destructive procedures, lower extremity deformity correction will need to be addressed before or at the time of index surgery for the overall patient's successful outcome.

Hindfoot Arthrodesis for the Elective and Posttraumatic Foot Deformity.

Triple (talonavicular, subtalar, and calcaneocuboid) joint arthrodesis and most recently double (talonavicular and subtalar) joint arthrodesis have been well proposed in the literature for surgical repair of the elective, posttraumatic, and/or neuropathic hindfoot deformities. The articulation of the hindfoot with the ankle and midfoot is multiaxial, and arthrodesis of these joints can significantly alter the lower extremity biomechanical manifestations by providing anatomic correction and alignment. This article reviews the indications and preoperative planning for some of the most common procedures to address the hindfoot deformity.

Operative Fixation Options for Elective and Diabetic Ankle Arthrodesis.

Ankle arthrodesis remains one of the most definitive treatment options for end-stage arthritis, paralysis, posttraumatic and postinfectious conditions, failed total ankle arthroplasty, and severe deformities. The general aims of ankle arthrodesis are to decrease pain and instability, correct the accompanying deformity, and create a stable plantigrade foot. Several surgical approaches have been reported for ankle arthrodesis with internal fixation options. External fixation has also evolved for ankle arthrodesis in certain clinical scenarios. This article provides a comprehensive analysis of midterm to long-term outcomes for ankle arthrodesis using internal and/or external fixation each for elective and diabetic conditions.

Management of Osteomyelitis and Bone Loss in the Diabetic Charcot Foot and Ankle.

Bone loss and destruction due to diabetic Charcot neuroarthropathy (CN) and osteomyelitis of the foot and ankle is a challenging clinical condition when lower extremity preservation is considered. Resection and excision of osteomyelitis and associated nonviable soft tissue can lead into large osseous and soft tissue defects that will most likely need the utilization of bone grafting and subsequent arthrodesis for stability and anatomic alignment. In the diabetic population with peripheral neuropathy, osseous instability can lead to subsequent lower extremity deformity, ulceration, infection and/or amputation. This article reviews the surgical approach in the presence of diabetic CN and concomitant osteomyelitis.

Surgical Correction of the Achilles Tendon for Diabetic Foot Ulcerations and Charcot Neuroarthropathy.

Achilles tendon pathologic conditions are implicated in contributing to the development of many diabetic foot complications including diabetic foot ulceration and Charcot neuroarthropathy. Surgical correction of the diabetic equinus deformity has been studied as an isolated or adjunctive treatment when dealing with difficult-to-close diabetic foot ulcerations or when surgically addressing the diabetic Charcot neuroarthropathy foot or ankle. This article reviews the most common indications, complications, and surgical procedures for equinus correction by either a tendo-Achilles lengthening or gastrocnemius recession for the management of diabetic foot conditions.

The Diabetic Charcot Foot from 1936 to 2016: Eighty Years Later and Still Growing.

Knowledge of diabetic Charcot neuroarthropathy (DCN) has grown tremendously since this condition was first described in 1936 by William Riely Jordan. Despite advancements in diagnostic approaches and treatment options making DCN limb salvage a more viable option, ongoing and additional research is needed to determine the definitive pathogenesis, which may aid in prevention of the condition. This article chronicles the main developments for the study and management of DCN since 1936 and recommends using the term diabetic Charcot-Jordan foot when specifically managing foot and ankle neuroarthropathy joints in patients with diabetic neuropathy.

An Overview of Internal and External Fixation Methods for the Diabetic Charcot Foot and Ankle.

Diabetic Charcot neuroarthropathy (DCN) of the foot and ankle is a challenging disease with regard to clinical presentation, pathogenesis, and prognosis. Its surgical management is equally difficult to interpret based on the wide array of options available. In the presence of an ulceration or concomitant osteomyelitis, internal fixation by means of screws, plates, or intramedullary nailing needs to be avoided when feasible. External fixation becomes a great surgical tool when managing DCN with concomitant osteomyelitis. This article describes internal and external fixation methods along with available literature to enlighten surgeons faced with treating this complex condition.

Soft Tissue Reconstruction Pyramid for the Diabetic Charcot Foot.

Foot and ankle ulcerations in patients with diabetic Charcot neuroarthropathy (DCN) occur frequently and can be challenging to address surgically when conservative care fails. Patients with acute or chronic diabetic foot ulcers (DFU) are at continued risk for development of osteomyelitis, septic arthritis, gas gangrene, and potential lower extremity amputation. Concurrent vasculopathy and peripheral neuropathy as well as uncontrolled medical comorbidities complicate the treatment approach. In addition, pathomechanical forces left untreated may contribute to DFU recurrence in this patient population. This article outlines in detail the stepwise approach and options available for durable soft tissue coverage in the DCN patient.

Medical Imaging in Differentiating the Diabetic Charcot Foot from Osteomyelitis.

Diabetic Charcot neuroarthropathy (DCN) poses a great challenge to diagnose in the early stages and when plain radiographs do not depict any initial signs of osseous fragmentation or dislocation in a setting of a high clinical index of suspicion. Medical imaging, including magnetic resonance imaging, computed tomography, and advanced bone scintigraphy, has its own unique clinical indications when treating the DCN with or without concomitant osteomyelitis. This article reviews different clinical case scenarios for choosing the most accurate medical imaging in differentiating DCN from osteomyelitis.