Plastic Surgeons
For reconstructive surgeons who want a steady diabetic foot practice around their existing skills.
Key Takeaways
- Plastic surgeons enter with the reconstructive skills already in place.
- The gap is usually the medical, preventive and offloading side of the service.
- Reconstructions fail without pressure management and sugar control around them.
- A structured foot service generates steady referrals rather than occasional cases.
Why Does This Suit Reconstructive Practice?
Because flap and graft work on the diabetic foot is technically demanding and clinically undersupplied. Surgeons capable of it are relatively few, and many patients reach amputation simply because no one nearby offered reconstruction.
The difficulty is that reconstruction alone does not hold. A perfectly healed flap over a foot with uncontrolled pressure and unmanaged sugar breaks down within months, which is discouraging for surgeon and patient alike.
What Does the Model Add?
- Assessment protocols that identify who will actually heal before you operate
- Vascular pathways so revascularisation precedes reconstruction reliably
- Offloading systems that protect the reconstruction afterwards
- Metabolic and nutrition input supporting healing
- Structured follow up that catches early breakdown
- Documentation that lets you audit your own outcomes honestly
How Does the Case Flow Work?
Most of the volume in a diabetic foot service is not surgical. Screening, wound care, offloading and footwear make up the bulk of visits, and a proportion of those patients need reconstruction. That base is what converts occasional referred cases into a predictable surgical practice.
Additionally, patients treated preventively return for years rather than once, which builds a clinic rather than a caseload.
What Support Is Provided?
Protocols, staff and doctor training, setup guidance, audit systems and marketing support, with clinical access for difficult cases. Full details are set out during the franchise discussion.
What Are the Commercial Terms?
Terms depend on whether you are adding sessions to an existing practice or establishing a standalone centre. Investment, territory and support arrangements are confirmed in writing before commitment.