Complications
Diabetic neuropathy and peripheral vascular disease are serious conditions that a doctor must monitor closely. Both cause complications that can have serious, ongoing effects. These complications may include:
- Wounds that do not heal
- infections, including skin infections, bone infections, and abscesses
- gangrene, when an infection causes tissue death
- foot deformity
- Charcot foot, which alters the shape of the feet as bones in the foot and toe shift or break
- death
- damage to surrounding structures, such as the legs
- Amputation [6]
Some complications such as infections can be reversed. However, other complications, including gangrene, may lead to permanent physical changes. A doctor may recommend amputation if a person develops gangrene.