This week on Health Watch, we’re talking about research, treatment and other issues relating to diabetes. One side effect of diabetes is nerve-related pain. Nearly half of all patients with diabetes have some form of nerve pain, and it gets worse as diabetes progresses.

Doctors at UT Southwestern Medical Center are studying whether surgery on the peripheral nerves can relieve this pain. Dr. Shai Rozen, a UT Southwestern plastic surgeon, says pressure on the nerves may cause much of the pain. With diabetes, nerves may grow larger, so that they’re compressed. Surgically releasing the pressure on these nerves may relieve the pain. It may also restore sensation to the bottoms of the feet, which often become numb in diabetics. That can lead to complications because patients may not know when their feet are injured, and ulcers can develop from these injuries. These ulcers often reach the point where extremities have to be amputated. Restoring sensation could help prevent the need for amputation.

Visit http://www.utsouthwestern.org/plasticsurgery to learn more about UT Southwestern’s clinical services in plastic surgery.