I've Been Diagnosed With Charcot Foot, Now What?

What can YOU do?

* Institute complete non-weight bearing for the affected extremity - that means keep your weight off the foot!
* Maintain good glycemic control - ask your Doctor about changes in your medication.
* Guarding against infection
* Educate yourself about total outcome of this severe disease.

New techniques are being used today and recent cases and surgeries have been shown to have excellent results. This usually requires extensive surgical reconstruction with either internal or external fixators. However, this technique needs to be instituted before complete bony destruction has ensued. If the neuropathy is not reversed, outcomes can be poor.

Care

Rest is the primary treatment for Charcot foot. Depending on the severity of the damage, no weight should be placed on it for several weeks. Permanent foot deformities can be avoided if the condition is diagnosed and treated early. Most cases of acute Charcot foot can be treated non-surgically with pressure-relieving methods such as total contact casting.

* Use other means to get around such as a kneewalker, crutches, or a wheelchair.
* Doctors often use CROW walkers, Arizona boots, or total contact casts to protect your foot while it heals.
* Custom Footwear will be needed once your foot has healed.
* Surgery, the last step if your foot does not heal with the above methods.

Before surgical care is instituted, non-weightbearing full-contact casting is employed. But even with these techniques, amputation of the extremity is still inevitable in a large percentage of cases. It is estimated that 100,000 non-traumatic amputations occur every year in the United States.

In advanced cases of Charcot arthropathy where bone destruction has taken place, reconstructive surgery can be performed. This technique usually requires extensive surgical reconstruction with either internal or external fixators.

Outcome

The outcome depends on you. Follow your doctors instructions and take an active part in your care. Healing a Charcot foot will not happen overnight. Reports of healing stages ranging from 3 months to 2 years are not uncommon. Ask your Doctor what your prognosis is.