Peachstate Advanced Cardiac & Endovascular Newnan, GA Office

The Amputation Prevention Centers at PACE are non-invasive focused outpatient programs designed specifically for patients with limb-threatening conditions, such as diabetic foot ulcers/infections and peripheral arterial disease. Diabetic foot complications are among the most complex to treat and require a coordinated, organized approach from a team of specialists with advanced training. Our goal at the Amputation Prevention Center is to prevent lower extremity amputations.

Often complicated by underlying conditions, what seems like a simple wound on your foot or lower leg can turn into a significant problem. A majority of lower limb amputations are due to foot ulcers that are a result of complications from diabetes, including:

• Neuropathy – loss of feeling in your feet
• Poor circulation
• Charcot foot – a deformity that forms in some patients with diabetes
• Gangrene
• Infections
• Repetitive trauma – from ill-fitting shoes that cause redness, blisters and eventually sores

Ulcers develop in up to 25 percent of those with diabetes over their lifetime. The longer an ulcer remains open and unhealed, the more likely it is to become infected. Foot ulcers complicated by infection are often what leads to an amputation. Lower extremity amputation is an unfortunate but often avoidable complication of diabetes

Treatment Options

Our approach to amputation prevention is aggressive and comprehensive, coordinating traditional and advanced therapies and techniques that are proven to reduce healing time and improve healing rates.

Since non-healing wounds rarely result from a single cause, we begin with a thorough evaluation and diagnostic testing to determine the underlying cause of the wound. A treatment plan is then developed to give patients the best chance for healing.

Depending on the type of wound, the treatment plan may include:

• Infection control
• Restoration of blood flow
• Debridement (removal of dead tissue)
• Offloading
• Hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy
• Skin substitutes
• Compression therapy
• Foot reconstruction
• Skin graft or flap

Time is of the essence when trying to save a limb. Any time you have a sore or wound on your lower extremity that concerns you, talk to your physician or contact the Amputation Prevention Center for an evaluation.

Wound Care

The Wound Care and Amputation Prevention Centers at PACE provide care to those with chronic non-healing wounds in a coordinated outpatient center utilizing the latest techniques and procedures. Our Centers are staffed with a multidisciplinary team of physicians, along with nurses and technicians with advanced training in wound care, who will customize the most effective treatment plan to stimulate healing a recover as quickly and completely as possible.