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February 4, 2010

Methodist Physicians Clinic Podiatrist Introduces New Procedure to Treat Diabetic Foot Ulcers
Cloned Cell Line Of Single Neonatal Foreskin Helping Diabetics Avoid Amputation

Methodist Physicians Clinic Podiatrist Bradley Copple, D.P.M., has introduced a new procedure for treating diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) that could mean the difference between healing and amputation.

According to Dr. Copple, Dermagraft® is a safe and effective skin substitute derived from a single neonatal foreskin taken at the time of circumcision.  Developed approximately five years ago, researchers were able to clone the cell line of the foreskin, providing patients with an advanced wound care product containing living human skin cells.  It is placed on the patient’s wound to help stimulate their own skin cells to multiply and heal the wound.

“The procedure literally takes five minutes each time the Dermagraft is applied,” Dr. Copple said.  “It’s quick, non-invasive, it’s covered by insurance and there is absolutely no risk of infection or rejection from the host.”

“Best of all, patients who have been treated with Dermagraft have experienced tremendous success closing and healing chronic open wounds.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control, nearly 24 million in the United States have diabetes.  Of those, between 15 and 25 percent will develop a foot ulcer in their lifetime; up to 24 percent of those who develop a foot ulcer will require amputation.

“Amputations are devastating to anyone who has to experience the loss of a part of your body,” Dr. Copple said.  “This treatment has the potential to significantly reduce the number of amputations resulting from diabetic foot ulcers.”

Dr. Copple, an Omaha native, joined Methodist Physicians Clinic-HealthWest Orthopedics-Sports Medicine last September.  He earned his medical degree from Des Moines University Osteopathic Medical Center in Des Moines, Iowa, and served a podiatry residency at Yale New Haven Hospital in New Haven, Conn.

For more information on Dermagraft, go to www.dermagraft.com.