Prophylactic surgery in the diabetic foot.

Prophylactic surgery in the diabetic foot is often fraught with complications, according to a five-year retrospective study at the University of Chicago Hospitals and Clinics. The findings indicate that seven major areas need be addressed in order to properly evaluate the potential diabetic surgical patient. These include careful evaluation of preoperative nutritional status, vascular status, neurologic status, bacteriologic culture status, deformity status, radiologic status, and surgical predictive index.