On diabetic foot, wound healing, amputation prevention, and the merger of consumer tech with medical devices
A new study from our USC group shows Medicaid patients with diabetic foot ulcers face 18% higher odds of infection hospitalization and 72% higher odds of major amputation — despite being younger and having comparable comorbidity burden after matching. The data point to structural vulnerability, not biology.
We talk a lot about the big-ticket items in diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN)—glucose control, hemoglobin A1c, advanced glycation end products. But what about the stuff sitting quietly in your multivitamin? A new review from Ntoga and colleagues out of the Diabetic Foot Clinic at Democritus University of Thrace—working with collaborators at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki—makes... Continue Reading →
Nearly a Million Words Later: What 17 Years of DiabeticFootOnline Look Like in a Word Cloud I recently did something I probably should have done a long time ago. I pointed an AI at every single blog post on this site—all 3,835 of them—and asked it to show me what nearly two decades of writing... Continue Reading →
The revolving door of diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) remains one of the most punishing cycles in limb preservation. While total contact casting and other standard off-loading approaches are effective for initial wound closure, they often fail to address the underlying biomechanical driver: persistent plantar pressure from bony “hot spots.” Emerging evidence suggests that minimally invasive... Continue Reading →
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ANTALYA, TURKEY – David G. Armstrong, DPM, MD, PhD, Distinguished Professor of Surgery and Neurological Surgery at the University of Southern California (USC), has been selected to deliver the opening keynote address at the 19th National & 7th International Wound Congress. The event, held at the Titanic Mardan Palace from December 4–7,... Continue Reading →
Team, we often talk about the "endgame" of limb salvage—the complex surgeries, the revascularization, the high-tech grafts. But the truth? The war against amputation is usually won or lost long before a patient ever sees a surgeon. It’s won in the primary care office. Our latest paper, just out in the Journal of Diabetes and... Continue Reading →
By: David G. Armstrong, DPM, MD, PhD We often discuss frailty as a geriatric syndrome—something to worry about when our patients reach their 70s or 80s. However, new data suggests we are missing a massive "middle" demographic that is silently struggling. This likely affects our efforts on a daily basis. In a fascinating new article... Continue Reading →
Dhaka, Bangladesh – October 8, 2025 – The Bangladesh Podiatry Society marked its first anniversary today with a dynamic international webinar uniting clinicians, educators, and innovators from around the world. Hosted by Ekagra Health under the theme “Healing with Hope,” the event celebrated Bangladesh’s rapid progress in diabetic-foot care and limb preservation. The hybrid program,... Continue Reading →
A New Insight from Samantha D. Minc, MD, MPH, and Team Samantha D. Minc, MD, MPH—now at Duke University—and her coworkers have reported a compelling data in the Journal of Vascular Surgery, titled “Identifying the challenges of amputation prevention in a rural state with mixed methods research engaging patients and providers.” This study employs both quantitative and qualitative... Continue Reading →
📈 Mapping the Footprint of Progress: A Decade of Diabetic Foot Ulcer Research Over the past ten years, diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) research has undergone a remarkable transformation, expanding in scale, sophistication, and global participation. A newly published bibliometric study offers a sweeping view of this evolution—highlighting emerging trends, global contributors, and the scholars shaping... Continue Reading →
