Providing Educational Resources to Area Practitioners, Dr. Sanders Hopes to Reduce the number of Serious Diabetic Foot Problems with Early Detection and Treatment
HOUSTON – Dr. Mark Sanders, board-certified Orthopedic surgeon and founder of the Sanders Clinic for Orthopaedic Surgery and Sports Medicine, launches an educational initiative to reduce the number of serious limb threatening diabetic foot and ankle conditions reported in Houston each year.
A Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and the American College of Surgeons, Dr. Sanders provides area physicians and other healthcare providers, who may be among the first to diagnose and treat diabetic patients, with educational resources in identifying patients with a predisposition to diabetic foot and ankle conditions.
According to Dr. Sanders, a simple Dorsiflexion test performed during a physical examination can help identify those patients prone to conditions associated with the diabetic foot – as well as other common foot and ankle conditions.
“Understanding some of key signs during a routine physical examination can reduce the number of more serious foot and ankle problems we see as orthopedic specialists, including metatarsalgia, forefoot ulceration, hallux valgus, flatfoot deformity, Achilles tendinitis, plantar fasciitis and Charcot arthropathy,” said Dr. Sanders.
“And in the diabetic patient, this early identification allows us to develop a proactive healthcare plan, preventing life and limb threatening conditions associated with diabetes. We want to reduce the number of lower extremity amputations associated with diabetes and ensure long, active lives for this population,” added Dr. Sanders.
According to statistics reported in the orthopedic literature, there are nearly 80,000 diabetes related amputations each year and a five-year risk of a contralateral amputation of 50%. The presence of a below the knee prosthesis requires a 25% increase in cardiac output for ambulation (walking about). Few diabetics have that level of reserve.
A published author, Dr. Sanders is a member of the American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society (AOFAS), the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM) and the Arthroscopy Association of North America. (AANA)
He holds a subspecialty certificate in Orthopaedic Sports Medicine and is best known for his no nonsense approach to recovery – getting his patients up on their feet and moving immediately following a procedure.
To learn more about Dr. Sanders and the treatment he provides go to SanderClinic.net Or, call toll free 888.530.4494.