A RELIEVED diabetic has had both legs saved after surgeons were on the brink of amputating the limbs below the knees because of a simple verruca which festered.
Medics were just hours away from sanctioning the drastic surgery after Barry Mayled’s feet had been plagued by horrific ulcers which steadily worsened despite extensive and varied treatments.
However, at the 11th hour the Welshman’s legs were saved, thanks to a microwave treatment for skin lesions which has revolutionised the podiatry sector and which delivered the healing he’d hoped for.
Grateful Barry, 73, an architect and garden designer from Penarth, paid tribute to the Swift device, invented by Scottish health tech pioneers, Emblation.
He added: “It saved my life. I'm still working and I'm on building sites and everything, and without my legs, that would have been the end of it.
“At one point I was in hospital surrounded by medics and things were so bad that the main surgeon was just shaking his head. There was pretty much nothing left to try and it was a matter of ‘when’ not ‘if’ my legs would have to be amputated below the knees.”
Leg amputations are a notorious complication of diabetes, which can cause reduced blood flow and nerve damage in the lower limbs. As a result, wounds, ulcers and infections can become gangrenous.
In Barry’s case, a simple verruca (a wart found on the feet) got out of control when the relatively harmless lesion became infected and ulcerated. It proved resistant to multiple treatments over four years. It spread to both feet, with painful growths behind his big toes leaving him barely able to walk.
As a last resort, a podiatrist embarked on treatment with Swift, which uses targeted low energy doses of microwaves to stimulate the immune system.
Barry said problems started in late 2017 and he added: “I developed what looked like a bruise on my right foot. Later, my wife and I were down in Devon and the bruise got redder and sorer, and eventually burst, becoming septic.
“That was the start of four agonising years of trying to get the correct treatment after it then spread to my left foot.
With little hope Barry, who has lived with diabetes since the age of 38, turned to podiatrist Tracy Davies of Toetal Footcare Ltd in Cardiff who was using innovative microwave technology to treat verrucae on her patients’ feet. Barry underwent seven individual applications of the Swift microwave treatment between July 2022 to April 2023, on five areas of his right foot and three on his left.
The podiatrists at Toetal Footcare Ltd have conducted around 1000 individual treatments with the Swift device and have seen amazing results for patients of all ages, although Barry’s recovery is the most remarkable to date.
Company director and podiatrist Tracy Davies said: “When I first saw Barry at the practice, both his feet were severely ulcerated.
“My colleagues in the NHS had provided excellent wound care but it was time to look at the problem from a different angle. I wondered if I used Swift to treat the verrucae, would I be able to heal the ulcerations and therefore save Barry’s feet from amputation? Quite frankly we had nothing to lose.”
Tracy removed dead and damaged tissue and began the microwave treatment. Over time, Barry’s verrucae and ulcerations started to reduce.
She added: “I was amazed by the remarkable turnaround in Barry’s condition."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here