wound

9th Annual Vascular Surgery & Wound Healing CME Symposium

by Columbia Surgery on June 30, 2011

Center: James F. McKinsey, MD, FACS

From l to r: Darren B. Schneider, MD; James F. McKinsey, MD, FACS; John H. Rundback, MD

On May 12th and 13th, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital hosted its 9th Annual Vascular Surgery & Wound Healing CME Symposium at the Marriott Marquis in New York City. Approximately 350 people attended the popular event, including clinicians from all over the country, as well as from Australia, Korea, and the UK.

The two-day educational event focused on the most up-to-date techniques for the treatment of peripheral vascular disease. Forty nationally renowned speakers gave 75 presentations over the course of the two-day symposium, addressing issues in current clinical practice, complications and pitfalls of newer technologies, the evolution of the field, and all major areas of vascular disease. The informative presentations were supplemented by interactive lunch sessions that included a hands-on negative pressure wound therapy lunch session. The Wound Healing aspect of the symposium is only in its second year, but has had a very positive response and is likely to remain a part of the program in the years to come.

Rajeev Dayal, MD, FACS

Rajeev Dayal, MD, FACS

The 14.5 CME Accredited Program was intended for a diverse audience of surgeons, cardiologists, therapists, nurses, and specialists of other kinds. Thirty-seven supporting companies were also in attendance, contributing to the already impressive wealth of information and resources regarding vascular disease that had been assembled for the occasion.

To to be notified about next year’s event or other continuing medical education seminars please provide us with your contact information on our clinician mailing list.

Tagged as: CME, vascular, wound

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Vascular & Wound Innovations CME: Complex Reconstruction of the Diabetic Foot

by Columbia Surgery on April 25, 2011

The 2011 Vascular CME, Innovations in Complex Vascular & Endovascular Interventions, will include special sessions on management of non-healing wounds. Nationally recognized faculty from NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital will address topics including:

  • Medical and surgical treatment of the infected foot with soft tissue and bone involvement, including antibiotic selection, surgical debridement, and reconstruction;

  • Current approaches in management of chronic wounds, including dressing products, negative pressure wound therapy, local surgical flaps and grafts, hyperbaric oxygen, and skin substitute products;

  • Medical and surgical management of the neuropathic foot, including bracing, reconstruction, and medical approaches.

    • Participants in this CME may earn 14.5 AMA PRA Category 1 CreditsTM.

    For details please visit: 2011 Innovations in Complex Vascular & Endovascular Interventions.

    The 2010 presentation by Marshall Katz, MD can be viewed below:


    2010 Presentation: Update on Offloading and Orthotics for the Diabetic Foot

    Tagged as: CME, diabetes, vascular, wound

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Diabetic Foot Ulcers Facts from Dr. Felix R. Ortega

by Columbia Surgery on October 25, 2010

Felix Raymond Ortega, MD

Felix Raymond Ortega, MD

As a follow-up our post on Screening for Diabetic Foot Ulcers, Director of the Wound Healing Center at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University, Dr. Felix R. Ortega provided us with these facts on diabetic foot ulcers:

  • Approximately 15% of New Yorkers have diabetes.

  • 45% of New Yorkers with diabetes have very poor control of their blood sugar.

  • One in six diabetics will develop a foot ulcer during their lifetime.

  • The number one reason for hospital admission for diabetic complications is infected foot ulcerations.

  • Compared to the general population, people with diabetes are 25 times more likely to require an amputation.

  • In North America, a person with diabetes has an amputation every 30 seconds.

  • A comprehensive foot care program can reduce amputations by 85%.

Physician Explaining Proper Foot Care to Diabetic Children

Physician Explaining Proper Foot Care to Diabetic Children*

For more information about wound treatment visit the Wound Healing Center.

* Photo Credit: bit.ly/dyR7fC

Tagged as: diabetes, Ortega, wound

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Screening for Diabetic Foot Ulcers

by Columbia Surgery on October 8, 2010

About one in every six patients with diabetes will develop a foot ulcer, and of those, one in four will require amputation. Beginning with even a small skin injury, a diabetic foot wound can worsen to include deeper layers of skin, muscle, and bone.

Given the seriousness of diabetic ulcers, one might think that screening should be well organized and routine across the medical profession. Unfortunately, however it is not. Foot ulcers are frequently overlooked during routine physical exams and because patients cannot feel them, they can be ignored for long stretches of time. By the time a patient seeks help, it has often become serious.

Diabetic Ulcer on Left Ankle

Diabetic Ulcer on Left Ankle*

This is why it is crucial for people to be screened not only for ulcers but for their risk factors. “If a patient is found to have one or more risk factors for diabetic foot ulcers, then that should lead to more frequent screenings for ulcers themselves,” says Felix R. Ortega, MD, Director, NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center Wound Healing Program,

To address the need for increased screening for diabetic foot ulcers, Dr. Ortega and Gerald Weber, DPM, Attending Physician, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center Wound Healing Program, have developed the first comprehensive screening program. The Diabetes Complications Detection, Treatment and Prevention Program to be implemented by NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital in 2011, will be available to hospital patients as well as the general public.

Every patient will receive comprehensive and standardized evaluations that include tests designed to detect diabetic complications even before symptoms appear. At the same time, the program will collect complete data on every patient in order to study the effect of specific treatment regimens among patients with particular characteristics. Randomized to different types of treatments at the Columbia Wound Healing Program, patients will be followed at regular intervals and their data gathered for at least three to five years. “For each type of patient, we will be able to prospectively determine which treatments are most effective,” says Dr. Weber.

This is the first time that treatments for diabetic foot ulcers will be compared in this comprehensive manner. The data gathered by the program will likely be used by the Department of Health, the National Institutes of Health and pharmaceutical companies to conduct individual clinical studies.

Please visit the Diabetic Foot Ulcers Facts from Dr. Felix R. Ortega for more information on diabetes and foot ulcers.

* Photo Credit: bit.ly/d7eQsb

Tagged as: diabetes, Ortega, Weber, wound

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