Wound dressing saves diabetic patient from amputation

An American patient was able to avoid having her foot amputated after a new wound dressing was used.

Angela Montes de Oca from Indianapolis believed her foot would have to be amputated after she told that there were no other options to treat her diabetic ulcer. Refusing to accept the diagnosis, she discharged herself from hospital and sought out the help of Dr Michael S. Miller.

Dr Miller, a wound clinician, was piloting KerraCel Ag, a wound dressing developed by UK-based medical company, Crawford Healthcare. KerraCel Ag is an absorbent gelling dressing which uses a proprietary technology developed by Crawford Healthcare and Exciton Technologies. After using the dressing Ms de Oca successfully avoided amputation and was fully recovered after eight weeks.

Dr Miller said: “To achieve such an early success with a patient so close to a life-altering operation represents medical innovation at its best. The unique and revolutionary elements of a silver-based dressing focus on its unrivalled ability to kill bacteria within biofilms – bacteria encased in a protective matrix, which show up to 1,000 times resistance to antibiotics – that typically prevents chronic wounds, such as diabetic ulcers and pressure sores, from healing.

“In over 23 years of medical practice and specialism in wound care, it is rare that I recommend oral antiobiotics as the most appropriate treatment for ulcers of this kind, and it came as no surprise that Angela’s first round of antiobiotics had little impact on the ulcer’s healing. When Angela first came to us in March, her wound was rapidly worsening and KerraCel Ag enabled us to achieve a remarkable turnaround in a matter of weeks, ultimately saving her foot from amputation. This success story marks a hugely significant milestone in wound care treatment which promises to transform and even save the lives of many people around the globe.”

KerraCel Ag was developed and tested with the University of Manchester and received FDA clearance in February this year. The product is currently only available in the US but the success of the treatment began calls for it to be fast-tracked into the NHS.  

Crawford Healthcare CEO, Richard Anderson, said: “To provide some context on the significance of Ms. Montes de Oca’s successful treatment, every single day in England there are twenty devastating amputations, with total expenditure related to foot amputation in people with diabetes in England estimated to be £1billion per year. This is the equivalent of almost one per cent of the entire NHS budget.* European studies have also shown that 50 per cent of patients die within five years of developing a diabetic foot ulcer.

“As the world’s largest wound care market, the US healthcare system is inherently designed to adopt new technologies faster than the UK. With such an early success for KerraCel Ag, however, and against the cost in both surgery fees and devastation that is caused to people’s lives through amputation, we are looking to fast track this new treatment into NHS pathways as soon as feasibly possible.”