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94 yo male with an unstageable left heel wound that occurred in October 2022; unknown etilogy of wound. Wound with moderate amount of serous drainage, exudate, and "wet eschar" that is firmly attached to heel. Arterial Duplex Dopplers indicate 50-75% occlusion of SFA; ABIs could not be determined secondary to occlusion. He does have sensation to area when cleaning wound; does not complaint of overt pain to area. He has 3+ pitting edema to BLE. Pedal pulses heard via hand held doppler. Attempted to remove eschar via forceps, to no avail. No debridement done due to doppler results. Have been using Iodasorb and Silver Alginate dressings. I know this slough and eschar needs to be removed, however, I am hesitant to do that in the home setting; due to occlusion of vessels, and he is also on blood thinner. I am not sure how this will heel without getting that slough and eschar removed.
Jan 8, 2023 by Patricia Oie,
2 replies
David Charash
DO,CWS,FACEP,FUHM
Thank you for presenting this complex case. There is no simple answer. A very clear and thoughtful process is required.
There are two limb threatening priorities 1) Presence of infection and 2)Critical Limb Ischemia (CLI). I will address CLI first: With your case presentation with a 50% occlusion, I would want this patient to have an urgent evaluation by a Vascular Surgeon/ Interventionalist if not already done Indication for revascularization needs immediate attention. You have not mentioned whether patient is a diabetic: evaluating for micro vascular disease as well as Understanding of diabetic control.
2) Infection: establishing clinically whether this is wet vs dry gangrene, infected vs colonized vs deep space infection, and or the presence of osteomyelitis. Have you performed any imaging, plain X-ray? MRI? Wound cultures.both aerobic and anaerobic You described wet draining ? That is concerning for infection.

My typical management for heel Eschar/ necrosis
1) Determine if there is infection:if wound is dry not infected: I typically paint the eschar with betadine daily to keep it dry, off load and address other comorbidities
If infected most likely should be hospitalized and have a multidisciplinary team management
2)Address vascular status with formal vascular evaluation and definitive treatment

This is a multidisciplinary problem that requires a team approach with a clear prioritization of management of critical limb ischemia.

Once the above has been addressed then the best management going forward can be determined. Other might have other suggestions.







Jan 8, 2023
Thank you for your quick and thorough response. No history of DM; wound initially presented as dry eschar, which I painted with betadine. Wound appeared worse over the past 2 visits. I agree with you in that patient needs a multidisciplinary approach to this complex problem.
Thank you.
Jan 8, 2023
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