[Diabetic foot syndrome in clinical practice. I. A model of a Diabetic Foot Consulting Unit]

Complex pathogenesis of the foot syndrome involving a number of body system and tissues provided us with grounds for making multispecialistic assessment of its severity. Also a decision about the type and intensity of procedure should be multispecialistic. An interdisciplinary team consists of a diabetologist, diabetic educator, podiatrist, kinesitherapist, orthopedist, general and vascular surgeon and a consultant from manufacturing corrective shoes. The make-up of the team implies that the procedure includes education, metabolic normalization of diabetes mellitus, orthopedic correction, possible surgical intervention and rehabilitation. Results discussed in part II of the study indicate the effectiveness of such approach.