Foot amputations due to diabetes are largely preventable

• When bill hill of Sherman Oaks decided to splurge on two pairs of expensive loafers, he trusted the shoe clerk to fit him correctly.
• He has to; as a diabetic for 20 years, the 70-year-old Hill has neuropathy, a common nerve disorder of diabetes mellitus that can lead to the loss of sensation in the feet and other parts of the body.
• As a result, he was unaware he had developed an ulcer on his right foot from the ill-fitting shoes until it was almost too late.
• He quickly went to the Providence Diabetic Foot Center in Burbank, where a doctor gave him strong antibiotics, removed the dead skin tissue from his foot, and made a mark on Hill's ankle.
• The wound eventually healed, but Hill learned how dangerous foot abrasions can be for diabetics.
• In fact, diabetic foot wounds are the leading cause of nontraumatic foot amputations in the United States.
• The disease disproportionately affects Latinos, African-Americans, American Indians and Asian/Pacific Islanders --- communities that represent 67 percent of the population in Los Angeles County.
• Nationwide, efforts are under way to combat the disease.
• Andros was co-chairman of last month's Global Diabetic Foot Conference in Hollywood, an international symposium that attracted hundreds of physicians, podiatrists, surgeons, nurses and diabetic educators.
• Andros says the number of amputations can be reduced dramatically with better, faster diagnosis of foot problems and more frequent use of bypass surgery to help heal dangerous foot wounds.
• "Diabetics get a unique blockage (of circulation) below the knee and above the ankle.
• "We all have to care about it and do something in our own lives, in our own homes and our own communities and schools to help prevent it.