Diabetic plantar ulcers treated by total contact casting. A clinical report.

The purpose of this clinical report is to describe the healing times of plantar ulcers treated by total contact casting (TCC) in nondiabetic and diabetic patients with and without evidence of severe peripheral vascular disease. Thirty patients with 33 chronic plantar ulcers were treated by applying total contact walking casts. Results demonstrate that 27 of 33 ulcers (81.8%) healed in an average time of 43.6 days. Healing times of patients with severe peripheral vascular disease secondary to diabetes mellitus are similar to those of patients without evidence of vascular disease. These results indicate that TCC is an effective and rapid treatment for chronic plantar ulcers in patients with or without vascular compromise secondary to diabetes mellitus. In addition, the results suggest that pressure reduction on the insensitive foot should be considered in treatment.