{"id":93219,"date":"2025-08-26T05:08:09","date_gmt":"2025-08-26T05:08:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/93219\/"},"modified":"2025-08-26T05:08:09","modified_gmt":"2025-08-26T05:08:09","slug":"i-had-a-small-blister-on-my-foot-i-thought-nothing-of-it-until-i-ended-up-in-hospital-with-sepsis-and-was-told-it-needed-to-be-amputated","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/93219\/","title":{"rendered":"I had a small blister on my foot. I thought nothing of it, until I ended up in hospital with sepsis and was told it needed to be amputated"},"content":{"rendered":"

Following a day of sightseeing, Chris Dolan noticed a blister on the outside of his right foot when removing his socks.<\/p>\n

It was a seemingly innocuous injury, yet would lead him \u2013 like hundreds of other Britons every week \u2013 to face the prospect of having his foot amputated.<\/p>\n

But thanks to an innovative surgical technique, not only was Chris\u2019s foot saved but he has even been able to take up \u2018walking\u2019 rugby.<\/p>\n

It nearly didn\u2019t end so positively. In June 2023, Chris, 50, and his wife Jane, 57, both civil servants, were on a cruise in Norway when he developed the blister. Initially, it was about 10mm wide. But after eight weeks, despite him meticulously keeping the blister clean and dry, it became badly infected.<\/p>\n

This was particularly serious as Chris has type 1 diabetes<\/a>, which means his body doesn\u2019t produce the hormone insulin, needed to control blood sugar levels, so he relies on injecting artificial insulin.<\/p>\n

Even if it is well managed, both type 1 and type 2 diabetes can lead to peripheral neuropathy where, over time, high levels of glucose in the blood damage the nerves in the extremities, causing numbness and tingling. If the foot is affected, it means patients can suffer a foot injury without even feeling it.<\/p>\n

As well as neuropathy in his foot, Chris had developed peripheral arterial disease (PAD), where a build-up of fatty deposits in the arteries restricts blood supply to the limbs, compounding any nerve damage.<\/p>\n

\"In <\/p>\n

In June 2023, Chris, 50, and his wife Jane, 57, both civil servants, were on a cruise in Norway when he developed the blister that nearly caused his foot to be amputated<\/p>\n

In severe cases (if a cut or scratch won\u2019t heal and becomes badly infected), peripheral neuropathy can lead to foot or lower limb amputation. More of these amputations are being performed as the number of people with diabetes increases. More than 5.8million people in the UK now live with diabetes, an all-time high, according to charity Diabetes UK.<\/p>\n

A further 1.3million could be unaware they have type 2 diabetes because they do not recognise the symptoms. \u2018The figures are staggering,\u2019 says Shiva Dindyal, a consultant vascular and endovascular surgeon at the NHS Basildon University Hospital in Essex.<\/p>\n

He sees about one patient a day who requires amputation, usually due to a diabetes complication. \u2018In England, there are an average 176 leg, toe or foot amputations each week, while across the UK, there are in excess of 9,000 limb amputations annually,\u2019 says Mr Dindyal.<\/p>\n

He explains that having excess blood glucose \u2018damages everything\u2019, adding: \u2018You\u2019re more likely to get an infection, as bacteria like \u201csugary\u201d blood.<\/p>\n

\u2018Amputation is the last resort because it changes someone\u2019s life. The reality is that a patient has a life expectancy of just 1 per cent five years after an amputation. This is often because they have other health issues, such as high blood pressure or cardiovascular disease or, due to their diabetes, wounds that don\u2019t heal, leading to complications.\u2019 The first step surgically is angioplasty \u2013 a procedure which widens narrowed arteries using an inflated balloon or stents \u2013 to get the blood to flow back into the foot. If this fails, a bypass operation \u2018is the only option\u2019, says Mr Dindyal.<\/p>\n

Here an artery, usually taken from the upper thigh, is joined to another blood vessel lower down the leg leading to the foot.<\/p>\n

Two months after the blister first appeared, Chris became unwell with a fever as a result of his foot infection. He was admitted to the James Cook University Hospital with sepsis. Fortunately, he was treated in time and was discharged three weeks later.<\/p>\n

As well as taking antibiotics, he wore a special compression dressing to stimulate blood circulation to the ulcerated foot. Despite this, the wound became a hole 30mm across and 15mm deep. \u2018It looked horrific as you could see the bone,\u2019 says Chris, from Middlesbrough. \u2018But I wasn\u2019t in pain because the nerves had been damaged over the years.\u2019<\/p>\n

\"Shiva <\/p>\n

Shiva Dindyal, a consultant vascular and endovascular surgeon at the NHS Basildon University Hospital in Essex<\/p>\n

\"\u00bfIn <\/p>\n

\u2018In England, there are an average 176 leg, toe or foot amputations each week, while across the UK, there are in excess of 9,000 limb amputations annually,\u2019 says Mr Dindyal\u00a0<\/p>\n

After two months of vacuum treatment on his infected right foot, the wound still hadn\u2019t fully healed and Chris was warned that if the infection could not be successfully treated, he would need his right foot amputated below the knee. But a fortnight later, his consultant told him another specialist in the same hospital might be able to help.<\/p>\n

Ian Nichol, a consultant vascular surgeon, is using a new technique called reversed deep venous arterialisation \u2013 where a vein (rather than an artery) from the upper leg is used to bypass a blockage and improve blood supply to the foot.<\/p>\n

The technique has only been performed in a small number of centres across the world.<\/p>\n

Mr Nichol has treated about 25 patients this way in the past three years, with about a 70 per cent success rate in saving a patient from amputation.<\/p>\n

Mr Nichol explains: \u2018Patients like Chris have what we call a \u201cdesert foot\u201d, where there are no arteries remaining to supply blood beyond the ankle and into the foot. Without this, the tissue can break down and die. This develops into an ulcer or gangrene which will not heal.<\/p>\n

\u2018This new technique is different. With no artery to work with, this bypass graft procedure turns a vein, which remain mostly disease-free, into an artery.\u2019 He says: \u2018We remove the saphenous vein, which is close to the skin\u2019s surface and runs down from the inside of the thigh to the calf. This vein is then reversed, attaching it to the popliteal artery below the knee, and joining it to a deep vein at ankle level in the foot which also works like an artery, so blood flows in the opposite direction, taking it to the foot.\u2019<\/p>\n

Veins transport blood from the body and back to the lungs to pick up more oxygen.<\/p>\n

Mr Nichol says: \u2018The valves which line the vein and normally prevent the blood flowing back down it due to gravity have to be destroyed by puncturing them. This allows blood to flow inside like a normal artery. It\u2019s a challenging operation because the vein below the ankle is quite small \u2013 2mm in diameter.<\/p>\n

\"Ian <\/p>\n

Ian Nichol, a consultant vascular surgeon, is using a technique called reversed deep venous arterialisation \u2013 where a vein from the upper leg is used to bypass a blockage<\/p>\n

\u2018This operation isn\u2019t for everyone,\u2019 he adds. \u2018Some people do not have suitable veins and some have had enough of trying different procedures and would rather have an amputation. But I hope it becomes more routine. It might save more patients from losing their lower leg.\u2019<\/p>\n

Chris had the eight-hour procedure in December 2023. He relied on a wheelchair for a year and, although he wasn\u2019t in pain, admits he felt depressed due to his lack of mobility.<\/p>\n

\u2018At times, I wondered if I should have had the amputation because I could have been learning to walk again after six weeks,\u2019 he says. \u2018But I\u2019m now glad I didn\u2019t lose my foot \u2013 it was fantastic to get up and start using walking poles.\u2019<\/p>\n

There\u2019s still a 5mm-sized ulcer on his foot but it\u2019s thought it will eventually heal.<\/p>\n

\u2018The blood is now getting through to my foot,\u2019 says Chris. \u2018I still can\u2019t walk far but I\u2019ve taken up walking rugby. I hope this operation can help others like me avoid an amputation.\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Following a day of sightseeing, Chris Dolan noticed a blister on the outside of his right foot when…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":93220,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[97,309,59,102,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-93219","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health","8":"tag-dailymail","9":"tag-england","10":"tag-gb","11":"tag-health","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom","14":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93219","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=93219"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93219\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/93220"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=93219"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=93219"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=93219"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}