Amputation Nation

Very interested to see this documentary. Provider-based Advanced Wound Care Centers see patients with Critical Limb Ischemia, Peripheral Arterial Disease, & Diabetes on a daily basis. Limb Preservation is always our goal, but the reality is these disease processes often advance to the point that amputation is the only option to preserve life. However, at times this option is performed without properly consulting with a Vascular Interventional Radiologist, Infectious Disease Specialist and Advanced Wound Care Provider. While delaying a necessary amputation can threaten life, other interventions can prolong the life of a limb and offer the patient sustainable quality of life for months or years. If you or someone you know has CLI, PAD, and/or Diabetes, and has open areas anywhere on the lower extremity, please see an advanced wound care specialist ASAP. Simple Foot Checks can save a limb and a life.

Patients suffering from peripheral artery disease (PAD) are often victims of a geographic lottery. But, surprisingly, this lottery is often not correlated with the wealth of the area someone is diagnosed and first treated in. Fred Goad, an 85-year-old retired executive from Nashville, was told that both of his legs needed to be amputated over 10 years ago. Not entirely believing this, he sought more medical opinions and ended up in a small town in the swamps of southern Louisiana where he began treatment. Today, he still has his legs. His story is an interesting case study. Peripheral artery disease is more prevalent in poorer communities, and sometimes this leads talented operators to work in those areas. The benefits of these situations flow to both the operator and their patients—the patients receive high quality care and the doctor becomes an ever greater expert in PAD because of the amount of cases they are able to perform. And in this way these forgotten pockets of America can become small Meccas of treatment. People like Fred Goad begin to come from large cities and tony suburbs to receive care in a place they would have never seen or heard of otherwise. Middle class people come as well, some driving across the country to make the pilgrimage. However, there are countless others who, for one reason or another, cannot make such a trip and cannot find care that they are satisfied with. These are the haves and the have-nots of PAD care in America. As Mr. Goad's story demonstrates, they are not always so simple to define. For more information on the film, please visit our website: https://lnkd.in/ggEPEX32

Producers Wayne Dickmann, Chris Wooley, and Jeff Martin were on hand at the Rocky Mountain Emmys ceremony to celebrate Dick Williams' induction into their Silver Circle. Dick was one of Dr. Ted Dietrich's first hires upon his move from Houston to Phoenix, and his expertise allowed Dr. Dietrich to spread far-reaching messages of awareness to healthcare workers and laypeople alike. To move into the myriad channels through which education reaches audiences, Dick assembled a large and eclectic staff of artists, designers, and filmmakers. Throughout his years of recruitment for these positions he gave countless young people their start in medical education, and his mentorship is a major reason why films like Scattered Denial: A Film About Radiation Safety and Amputation Nation are in production today. Thank you Dick.

As the granddaughter of two amputees, one due to CLI, I saw firsthand the devastating consequences of amputation. As a 23-year-old new RN grad, I watched my 67-year-old grandfather endure a failed fem/pop bypass within a few months of surgery, a BTK amp, an AKA, and a pending disarticulating amp at the hip when he succumbed to an MI and passed away. This was decades ago and not enough has changed. Legs are still being amputated in the US at an alarming rate without a decent vascular workup or referral for second opinions. Because of this, I have devoted my career to CLI research, education, and awareness. Please join me in donating whatever you can spare to bring the film Amputation Nation to reality. Together we can raise awareness and save patients from unnecessary amputations due to critical limb ischemia. https://lnkd.in/eSFGurGP

Our Website: https://lnkd.in/d_yppW6i Patients suffering from peripheral artery disease face a unique challenge. When their disease reaches a relatively advanced stage and the threat of amputation begins to loom, the medical advice they receive begins to vary wildly. A patient might go to one doctor and be told that they need an amputation imminently. Then, that same patient might travel only a few miles to seek a second opinion and be told that, with interventions, they could be able to keep their leg for years—indefinitely even. Regardless of which physician is “right,” these situations should concern all of us. They are a breach of the faith the public has placed in the medical academy. The public's faith in physicians is not blind. The public does not expect that every physician they see will give them an identical, perfect medical opinion. They have a realistic expectation—that through the messy process of debate, innovation, and time, the range of acceptable medical opinions they receive will become reasonably small. And where ambiguity exists, they expect that they will be informed of it and given choices. But the countless patient stories we have already heard while shooting Amputation Nation have made it clear that the medical academy is falling far short of this expectation in treating and educating patients with peripheral artery disease. Patient confusion is pervasive, and medical outcomes are largely being determined by flips of a coin. If you are interested in learning more about how you can help us in this mission of awareness, please visit: https://lnkd.in/d_yppW6i

In the words of Dr. Craig Walker, "We are underdiagnosing peripheral arterial disease. It has not gotten the attention it should, because it is a killing disease, it is a disabling disease, and, most importantly, it's a disease we now have great treatments for. . . . [But] we're waiting until people are at the end of the spectrum and almost beyond hope." Through interviews with leading practitioners, patients, and other stakeholders, Amputation Nation will explore what makes peripheral artery disease (PAD) one of the developed world's most critical—and most underpublicized—health crises. For more information on the film, please visit our website: https://lnkd.in/ggEPEX32

The producers of Scattered Denial have entered production on a new documentary film called Amputation Nation. The film will seek to raise awareness of the devastating effects of peripheral artery disease (PAD) and its more advanced form, critical limb ischemia (CLI), on both society and individual patients. Though the production is still in its early shooting stage, the production team is proud to have already conducted dozens of interviews with leading practitioners and patients. Each story has yielded a richer understanding of the problem we as a nation face, and new concerns to consider as we chart the course for better patient care. Stay tuned for updates on the film by following our LinkedIn page, and for more information visit: https://lnkd.in/g8NTeaNa