WASHINGTON — A collaboration between the Society for Vascular Surgeons and the American Podiatric Medical Association is planned to improve limb maintenance in the face of diabetic complications.
Dr. Anton Sidawy, president of SVS, and Dr. Ronald D. Jenson, president of APMA, said their members would work together to identify clinical issues relating to critical limb ischemia in an attempt to find solutions that would benefit patients.
The societies will develop joint postgraduate courses, publish diabetic foot articles in their journals, conduct joint public awareness programs, and pursue other avenues of collaboration.
In addition, the SVS and APMA will collaborate on developing practice guidelines and reporting standards for the care of diabetic foot, according to a joint announcement made at a diabetic limb meeting sponsored by Georgetown University Hospital. “Early on, vascular surgeons realized that fixing occlusive arterial disease is not enough to heal and maintain the integrity of the foot skin envelope in diabetics. Other specialties, in particular podiatry, have a lot to offer toward the goals of limb maintenance and salvage in this group of patients. This collaboration between SVS and APMA aims to formalize this clinical partnership and popularize the team concept for better care of the diabetic patient,” said Dr. Sidawy, a vascular surgeon based in Washington.
Dr. Jenson, a podiatrist in Modesto, Calif., echoed this optimism: “The growing relationship between the APMA and the SVS has created enormous opportunities for the podiatric and the vascular communities to come together in the best interest of patient care.”
“What we have found is that teams trump technology,” added Dr. David C. Armstrong, a surgeon at the University of Arizona, Tucson, and an APMA member.