Abstract
Since the organization of the Nihon University Hospital foot care team in Feb. 2011, we have aimed to achieve a borderless and effective practice, regardless of the need for different medical specialties, and developed a multidisciplinary foot care clinic for patients. While a cardiovascular surgeon acts as the team leader, a cardiologist, dermatologist, and orthopedist are also members of this team. In addition, the team includes a wound, ostomy, and continence nurse (WOCN), diabetes nurse, prosthetist, and physical therapist. The goal of the foot care team is limb salvage, wound management, and improvement of the health and quality of life of patients. As a result of this multidisciplinary support for numerous patients with various foot problems, we observed a decrease in the number of major limb amputations. This experience has demonstrated to us that the most important issue in foot care is a holistic approach to patient care, rather than focusing on just the local foot problem. We aim for further improvement of our practice by future involvement of diabetologists.
