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Chemical Matrixectomy for Ingrown Toenails
Is There an Evidence Basis to Guide Therapy?
Chemical matrixectomy for ingrown toenails is one of the most common surgical procedures performed on the foot. The procedure was first described in 1945 by Otto Boll, who discussed the use of phenol to correct ingrown toenails. In the years that followed, many variations of technique and method have been described. This article reviews the pertinent literature detailing chemical matrixectomies and advocates the use of an evidence basis for care. (J Am Podiatr Med Assoc 92(5): 287-295, 2002)
Freiberg’s infraction is a relatively rare disease for which there is currently no consensus regarding surgical management. We present a case study describing a surgical procedure that uses a novel metatarsophalangeal hemi-implant. This procedure does not alter the metatarsal parabola, and it allows for other surgical procedures to be performed in the future. (J Am Podiatr Med Assoc 94(6): 590–593, 2004)
The use of bioengineered tissue and topical subatmospheric pressure therapy have both been widely accepted as adjunctive therapies for the treatment of noninfected, nonischemic diabetic foot wounds. This article describes a temporally overlapping method of care that includes a period of simultaneous application of bioengineered tissue (Apligraf, Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp, East Hanover, New Jersey) and subatmospheric pressure therapy delivered through the VAC (Vacuum Assisted Closure) system (KCI, Inc, San Antonio, Texas). Future descriptive and analytic works may test the hypothesis that combined therapies used at different and often overlapping periods during the wound-healing cycle may be more effective than a single modality. (J Am Podiatr Med Assoc 92(7): 395-397, 2002)
Clinicians caring for chronic wounds can easily overlook nutritional status. Patients with diabetes are at high risk for primary and secondary malnutrition. Although profiles exist defining the extent of the deficiency, the process of wound healing and the interactions of the macronutrients and micronutrients necessary to accomplish it must first be understood. In elderly patients with diabetes, additional factors such as liver and renal function, the interdependence of the immune system, and protein synthesis, also must be considered. This article provides a practical format to assist clinicians in better evaluating this often difficult-to-assess area of care. (J Am Podiatr Med Assoc 92(1): 38-47, 2002)
Maggot Therapy in “Lower-Extremity Hospice” Wound Care
Fewer Amputations and More Antibiotic-Free Days
We sought to assess, in a case-control model, the potential efficacy of maggot debridement therapy in 60 nonambulatory patients (mean ± SD age, 72.2 ± 6.8 years) with neuroischemic diabetic foot wounds (University of Texas grade C or D wounds below the malleoli) and peripheral vascular disease. Twenty-seven of these patients (45%) healed during 6 months of review. There was no significant difference in the proportion of patients healing in the maggot debridement therapy versus control group (57% versus 33%). Of patients who healed, time to healing was significantly shorter in the maggot therapy than in the control group (18.5 ± 4.8 versus 22.4 ± 4.4 weeks). Approximately one in five patients (22%) underwent a high-level (above-the-foot) amputation. Patients in the control group were three times as likely to undergo amputation (33% versus 10%). Although there was no significant difference in infection prevalence in patients undergoing maggot therapy versus controls (80% versus 60%), there were significantly more antibiotic-free days during follow-up in patients who received maggot therapy (126.8 ± 30.3 versus 81.9 ± 42.1 days). Maggot debridement therapy reduces short-term morbidity in nonambulatory patients with diabetic foot wounds. (J Am Podiatr Med Assoc 95(3): 254–257, 2005)
This study evaluated changes in pressure imparted to diabetic foot wounds using a novel negative pressure bridging technique coupled with a robust removable cast walker. Ten patients had plantar pressures assessed with and without a bridged negative pressure dressing on the foot. Off-loading was accomplished with a pressure-relief walker. Plantar pressures were recorded using two pressure-measurement systems. The location and value of peak focal pressure (taken from six midgait steps) were recorded at the site of ulceration. Paired analysis revealed a large difference (mean ± SD, 74.6% ± 6.0%) between baseline barefoot pressure and pressure within the pressure-relief walker (mean ± SD, 939.1 ± 195.1 versus 235.7 ± 66.1 kPa). There was a mean ± SD 9.9% ± 5.6% higher pressure in the combination device compared with the pressure-relief walker alone (mean ± SD, 258.0 ± 69.7 versus 235.7 ± 66.1 kPa). This difference was only 2% of the initial barefoot pressure imparted to the wound. A modified negative pressure dressing coupled with a robust removable cast walker may not impart undue additional stress to the plantar aspect of the foot and may allow patients to retain some degree of freedom (and a potentially reduced length of hospital stay) while still allowing for the beneficial effects of negative pressure wound therapy and sufficient off-loading. (J Am Podiatr Med Assoc 94(5): 456–460, 2004)
Verrucous Hyperplasia
A Common and Problematic Finding in the High-Risk Diabetic Foot
Although verrucous hyperplasia may be common in high-risk insensitive feet, the literature contains little discussion on this topic. Treatment of verrucous hyperplasia is aimed primarily at reducing the causative forces. In cases that result from edema, external compression has proved to be adequate. If verrucous hyperplasia on the foot results from frictional forces, then shoe modifications with proper fit, accommodative liners, or fillers in the case of amputation are necessary. In recalcitrant cases, excision of the affected tissue with local soft-tissue or graft coverage has been successful. We describe a 56-year-old man with verrucous hyperplasia. (J Am Podiatr Med Assoc 96(4): 348–350, 2006)
Maggot Debridement Therapy
A Primer
Treatment of chronic wounds of the lower extremity requires a systematic, multidisciplinary approach as well as flexibility in order to achieve acceptable, consistent short-term and long-term results. Maggots, once considered an obsolete therapeutic modality, can be a useful addition to the armamentarium of the foot and ankle specialist. This article describes the use of maggot debridement therapy for intractable wounds of the lower extremity. (J Am Podiatr Med Assoc 92(7): 398-401, 2002)
Wound debridement, when systematically performed, may be as important as off-loading in reducing the prevalence of chronic inflammatory by-products in a wound and thus in converting a chronic wound into an acute one. Although it has been suggested that aggressive surgical debridement of wounds may be beneficial, there have been few, if any, technical descriptions of this aspect of therapy. It is therefore the purpose of this article to describe the general principles, process, and technique of outpatient surgical debridement of noninfected, nonischemic neuropathic diabetic foot wounds performed at the authors’ institutions. The authors hope to foster further discussion leading to improvement in the process and the prevalence of such debridement. (J Am Podiatr Med Assoc 92(7): 402-404, 2002)
