On diabetic foot, wound healing, amputation prevention, and the merger of consumer tech with medical devices
Understanding the Vascular Dynamics of DFU Healing and Pathology A recent study published in the Journal of Clinical Medicine by Christensen et al. (2025) utilized Oxygen-15 Labeled Water PET imaging to investigate resting skeletal muscle perfusion in patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) and diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs), comparing them to healthy controls. This... Continue Reading →
A persistent question in the management of infected diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) is deceptively simple: Does it matter whether we swab or take tissue? Guidelines emphasize tissue sampling, yet swabbing is easier, cheaper, and far more widely used. The CODIFI2 randomized controlled trial, published in Health Technology Assessment (2025), offers timely insight — though, as... Continue Reading →
I Reflections on new work from the International Flow and Toe Research Team (iFORT) One of the most persistent challenges in limb preservation is not the first ulcer — it is the next one. Recurrence remains a defining feature of the disease, with up to 60% of people developing a new ulcer within three years... Continue Reading →
Lima, Peru – November 2025 David G. Armstrong, DPM, MD, PhD, Distinguished Professor of Surgery and Neurological Surgery at the University of Southern California, delivered two featured lectures in Lima, Peru, highlighting the intersection of innovation, technology, and interdisciplinary collaboration in addressing chronic disease and diabetic foot care. At the 2nd Congress on Research and... Continue Reading →
Published today in Circulation: Cardiovascular Interventions, the LEGenD-1 trial represents a step toward a potential milestone in regenerative medicine and limb preservation. The study, titled “Anatomically Directed Lower Extremity Gene Therapy for Ulcer Healing: A Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Study,” demonstrates that gene therapy can safely potentially accelerate wound healing in patients with chronic limb-threatening ischemia... Continue Reading →
While total-contact casts (TCCs) remain, along with other irremovable devices the gold standard for off-loading diabetic foot ulcers in people who can tolerate them, concerns about immobility and venous thrombosis have lingered. Our recent systematic review found surprisingly low rates of deep venous thrombosis (DVT) in patients treated with TCCs—only 1 in 136 cases (~0.7%),... Continue Reading →
Our friends and colleagues at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid—led by Mateo López-Moral, Marta García-Madrid, Esther García-Morales, Yolanda García-Álvarez, Francisco J. Álvaro-Afonso, and José Luis Lázaro-Martínez—have just published the DIATIME Comparative Efficacy Study, a randomized clinical trial that may help redefine how often we should see patients in remission after a healed diabetic foot ulcerLópez-Moral... Continue Reading →
For decades, prolonged courses of systemic antibiotics have been standard practice after surgery for orthopaedic infections—osteomyelitis, prosthetic joint infection, fracture-related infection, and yes, even diabetic foot infections. The reasoning was simple: biofilm is hard to reach, and more antibiotics must be better than less. But what if, with the right local antibiotic strategy, less really... Continue Reading →
Meloneras, Canary Islands — October 2025 Dr. David G. Armstrong, Distinguished Professor of Surgery and Neurological Surgery at the University of Southern California (USC), participated as an invited international faculty member at the 54th National Congress of Podiatry held in Meloneras, Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain. Dr. Armstrong delivered a featured lecture titled “Why is... Continue Reading →
LONDON, UK – October 2025 — The 11th King’s International Summit on Modern Surgical Reconstruction and Multidisciplinary Care of the Diabetic Foot brought together global leaders in limb preservation for two days of intensive discussion, innovation, and collaboration at King’s Place, London. Co-directed by Professors Mike Edmonds and Venu Kavarthapu, the meeting’s theme — “Breaking... Continue Reading →
