Dad with necrosis

mpang123 · April 16

My dad, 89, VD, has started getting necrosis in his feet. How serious is that? He is bed bound and his feet are wrapped up with foam to prevent them from rubbing against each other. Is this terminal? What should I expect? Anybody here have any experience with this?

SusanB-dil · April 17

I'm sorry, not familiar with that, but I would think it would depend on just how bad it is getting. Make sure his doc checks that out and answers your questions.

I know it is lack of blood flow... is there anything that can be done to counteract that, like massage or PT?

mpang123 · April 17

I am going to ask hospice nurse what can be done about it besides wrapping him with foam. And if he will recover or will it get worse.

Quilting brings calm · April 17

necrosis basically means dead cell tissue. They can remove the dead cells, they can’t make them ‘undead’. You want it to stop at whatever point it’s at. You want to do what you can to keep the blood circulating in his limbs.

mpang123 · April 17

It doesn't help that he already has peripheral artery disease which restricts blood flow. My poor dad…I think the end is near…

sandwichone123 · April 18

The only way to remove the dead tissue is amputation of the limb, high enough for the remaining part to have enough circulation to heal. If your dad is on hospice, you may not want to put him through that. I wouldn't.

easy23 · April 18

I posted a topic called "foot amputation" in March. @Vitruvius posted the following:

"There may be a bigger issue here. For one thing, if he isn’t on hospice yet you should probably have him assessed for it. My DW is in Stage 7f and her feet and toes are not getting enough circulation and hospice is now afraid of gangrene. They have explained to me that as dementia causes the brain and body to shut down, it causes blood allocation to be directed to core organs and this will accelerate. I’m not saying that this is what is happening to your DH. I’m just suggesting that you look at what is happening on a broader level than just his feet and that hospice can help you do that. I’m sorry if this sounds alarmist."

Maybe hospice can give you more insight into your situation.

mpang123 · April 18

The hospice nurse said today that Dad's necrosis isn't getting any better but it isn't getting worse either. At least for now…also, my dad started having severe diarrhea the past 2 days. Not good.

easy23 · April 19

So sorry….

Dad with necrosis

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