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The Limb Preservation Program at Palmdale Regional Medical Center (PRMC) focuses on prevention and early intervention to heal conditions affecting the legs, feet and toes and help prevent the loss of a limb. The goal is to help prevent amputation, which normally results in a reduced quality of life.

“In order to heal the body, we must help patients develop beneficial behaviors and supportive outlooks,” says Kyle Hopkins, DPM, Medical Director of the Palmdale Regional Limb Preservation Program. “The body and the mind are one and we cannot heal one without healing the other.”

People with diabetes can benefit from the program, as well as those with bone infections, leg swelling, surgical wounds, pressure sores, radiation injuries or other injuries to the arteries. Help is available for patients who have been diagnosed with cold limb, atrophied limb, black limb, ischemic gangrene, lower limb infection, cellulitis or diabetic ulcer.

Limb Preservation Program Process

There are three ways to present to the program: from an emergency room, wound care center visit or community outpatient setting for diabetic foot wound or condition. Once here, a series of baseline tests are performed to determine the patient's condition. The patient is then admitted or referred to a hospitalist. A vascular team, podiatric surgeon and infectious disease specialist are consulted to define the treatment plan.

A variety of medical specialists are used. This includes wound care, cardiology and podiatry. These specialists work together to develop a comprehensive care plan that will improve circulation and promote healing. The patient will require consultations from an endocrinologist, case management, wound care and dietary, and will have orders for adjunct therapies as needed based on the level of procedure they undergo. Partial amputations and application of biologic grafts may be performed to promote healing and wound closure.

Patients will heal and prepare for return to home through multiple modalities. Downstream visits will be coordinated with outpatient wound care, home health and physical therapy. The patient will also follow up with community physicians for further treatment, evaluation and preventive care for their condition.

There are several distinct elements of the program that will utilize PRMC and our adjunct service lines:

• Full contact casting
• Outpatient rehabilitation therapy
• Wound care services with and without hyperbaric oxygenation treatments to promote healing
• Wound VAC application and sponge changes in wound care clinic

Meet the Limb Preservation Team

Kyle Hopkins, DPM
Medical Director, Limb Preservation Program

Ian R. Cook, MD, FAPWCA
Medical Director, Wound Care and Hyperbarics

Ihab N. Aziz, MD
Vascular Surgeon

George M. Makkar, MD
Vascular Surgeon

The program is dedicated to the healing of all aspects of patient care and will be donating $5,625 to Mental Health America, the nation’s leading national nonprofit organization dedicated to the promotion of mental health, located in Lancaster, California. Mental health is of utmost importance in helping to heal the physical body.