Offloading the diabetic and ischemic foot: solutions for the vascular specialist

For generations, the use of techniques to defer skin pressure and protect the lower-extremity wound has been a cardinal goal to achieve therapeutic success and healing. Choosing the appropriate postoperative offloading device or shoe is often difficult, as it is challenging to merge optimal mechanical protection with clinical realities and patient needs. The gold standard for offloading remains the total contact cast, yet it receives minimal utilization in the clinical setting. Other devices have shown benefit, including the removable cast walker, instant total contact cast, and depth inlay shoes, for preventative measures. Ultimately, any plantar, lower-extremity wound must receive some form of external pressure reduction to reach acceptable rates of healing. Future technologies will aid these measures by providing body-worn constant monitoring systems and more effective offloading via patient-specific exoskeletons. This review is a supplemental update on the available wound offloading modalities based on logic-driven research regarding pressure relief across the diabetic neuropathic or impaired perfusion foot. (C) 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.