Rajkot-based surgeon designs special footwear for diabetics

How would it be if a doctor prescribes footwear designed specially by him instead of medicines? Rajkot-based Dr Vibhakar Vachrajani is one such physician. A specialist diabetes foot surgeon, Vachrajani designs footwear for ulcer in the legs caused by diabetes. For this, he hires shoe-maker and gives a whole floor of his hospital to work upon. Vachrajani claims to be the only private practitioner in the country who does this kind of a job.

Since last five years, Vachrajani has been offering such treatment to diabetic patients who have ulcer problems in the legs. According to Vachrajani, "It is not just a medical problem. Legs are mechanical parts of our body and first we have to understand them to treat them well. Ulcer in the legs is like heart attack which can render a person useless and may even be fatal at times."

Once Vachrajani hires a shoe-maker, he sends him for training at Karigari market near Chennai where such kinds of footwear are made for leprosy patients. The shoe maker is also asked to visit international footwear exhibition that is held at Delhi annually, says Vachrajani.

"We design footwear that provide comfort to patient by which they can easily move and the damage on leg due to diabetes is lessened. Hospitals in many western countries have such kind of treatment facilities. In India, it's a new concept and even doctors don't have much knowledge about foot treatment of a diabetic patient because they cannot understand foot management. Moreover, prices of shoes are also higher than the normal ones since they are made using better materials," says Vachrajani.

The cost of one pair of such special footwear comes to between Rs 800 and Rs 3000. Vachrajani uses micro cellular rubber (MCR) and micro cellular poron (MCP) are used for shoes. "On an average I recommend around 100 patients, of which only 30 patients are prepared to get themselves such special footwear. The awareness about such facilities is still lacking and needs to be spread around."

About 10 percent of Indian population is diabetic. In Gujarat, about 50 lakh people are diabetic. Moreover, according to World Health Organization (WHO), by 2025 the number of diabetic patients in India is set to double.