SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH (Good Things Utah) – Introducing Dr. Anna Hronek, an Intermountain Health podiatrist specializing in foot and ankle care, including diabetic foot care and Charcot reconstruction. Joining her on this journey is Deb Eaton, a diabetic patient whose experience underscores the significance of proactive foot health management.
Diabetic foot problems, chronic wounds, and a critical lack of blood supply to a limb, known as ischemia, are three major health concerns and a common cause of hospitalization; that’s why Intermountain Health has established a new Limb Preservation Program. During 2023, 400 amputations were made at Intermountain Health Hospitals, 147 major amputations and 253 minor amputations. The goal of the new program is to identify and treat patients with threatened limbs related to critical ischemia, diabetic foot, and chronic wounds in hopes of reducing amputation rates and maintaining functional limbs.
One of those patients who has already benefited from the new program is Debra Eaton of Clinton, Utah. Eaton has diabetes and had not heard of Charcot or Diabetic Foot. She teaches science at West Point Jr.
High and is in her 34th year of teaching. Her foot started swelling, and she thought she was too much on her feet and needed to put them up after being on them all day. She had multiple fractures and was using a scooter for 18 months to keep weight off it.
However, her foot did not get better, and Dr. Anna Hronek diagnosed her with Charcot, or.