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Why should you receive treatment
for diabetes in AMC?

Diabetes is a condition where the level of blood sugar, an unused energy source, rises abnormally. This condition is mainly caused by the lack or malfunctioning of insulin – a hormone that controls the level of blood sugar in the body. High blood sugar levels can cause narrowing and obstruction of the blood vessels, leading to damage to vital organs and nerves. Diabetes can cause many complications in patients. In adults, the leading cause of blindness is diabetic retinopathy. Kidney failure and dialysis due to nephropathy and the need for lower limb amputation are all mainly caused by diabetes as well. Moreover, diabetes can double or triple the risk of coronary artery or cerebrovascular diseases.

AMC’s Diabetes Center focuses on preventing diabetic complications through accurate diagnosis and early management by a multidisciplinary approach. The center provides treatment to inhibit the progression of the disease for patients already dealing with diabetic complications as well. AMC’s Diabetes Center professionally and systematically manages diabetes-associated complications through the cooperation of specialists from eight different departments including the departments of endocrinology and metabolism, ophthalmology, nephrology, cardiology, orthopedic surgery, neurology, and vascular surgery.

Treatment options

Diabetes is a disease that not only cannot be cured completely, but also requires lifelong care and control. If the causes of transient hyperglycemia such as drug intake or serious stress are removed, the blood sugar levels may return to normal. However, for patients diagnosed with diabetes without transient causes, it is uncommon for them to be completely cured. The basic treatment for diabetes is diet and exercise. If this approach fails to control blood sugar levels, then medication should be started. However, even with drug therapy, diet and exercise must continue. In some cases, as the disease progresses for an extended period of time, the ability of pancreas to release insulin gradually deteriorates, making insulin injections necessary. However, diabetes is manageable through lifestyle modification and drug therapy. Patients can lead a healthy life as long as they are careful with managing their diabetes.

Multidisciplinary one-stop services

Diabetes specialists at ASAN Diabetes Center evaluate patients with diabetes on their blood sugar levels and diabetic complications through screening tests. The Center built a one-stop system consultation room in 2009 to provide patients with consultation, diagnosis, treatment, and education services on diabetes in a single location, thus enhancing patient convenience. Moreover, the diabetic complications screening room was refurbished to offer systemized examination services and customized treatment for each patient. Gait Posture Assessment (GPA), peripheral nerve sensory test, peripheral nerve conduction test, fundus examination, blood circulation test in the lower limbs, and skin oxygen saturation tests are performed all together in AMC's Diabetes Center. It also has a special exam room for diabetic retinopathy. Depending on the test results, various departments join and offer an organized plan in managing and treating the patient's overall diabetic complications.

 

  • Diabetes Clinic

    The clinic offers professional consultations to help patients with diabetes live a healthy life by providing the best care possible by including the latest medicine and treatment approach suited to each patient. Through one-on-one counseling with an educator, a coordinator, and a nutritionist, each patient will be given comprehensive diabetes education focused on lifestyle modifications such as diet, exercise, medication, and self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG).

  • Diabetic Retina Clinic

    The clinic is designed to diagnose and treat diabetic retinopathy, which is one of the representative diabetes complications. Early diagnosing and treatment is important. Therefore, to treat patients at the appropriate time, there is a retinopathy screening room, a laser therapy room, and an outpatient operating room for injection therapy.

  • Diabetic Foot Clinic

    The clinic introduced a new system in which a foot examination is performed prior to consultation. This system was designed to prevent and manage diabetic foot diseases by conducting a foot examination before patients show unusual symptoms, preventing foot ulcers and other potential complications.

  • Diabetic Kidney Disease Clinic

    Diabetic nephropathy is a diabetic complication that begins before a patient starts to show symptoms. This means that by the time patients show symptoms, it is unlikely for their condition to recover. Therefore it is important, even for diabetes patients without symptoms, to control their blood sugar levels to prevent kidney-related complications. The clinic aims to detect and treat kidney complications at an early stage.

  • Cardiovascular and Lower Limb Vascular Clinic

    patients with diabetes may have ischemic heart diseases (IHDs) such as angina and myocardial infarction. 20-30% of them suffer from IHDs, yet most are left untreated due to absent symptoms. In this case, there is concern about sudden death caused by IHDs. Therefore, thorough examinations are required to prevent unexpected situations. The clinic provides fast diagnosis and treatment using echocardiography, treadmill test, coronary artery CT, and angiocardiography.

  • Brain Health Clinic

    The Brain Health Clinic was recently launched for the first time in Korea in AMC in order to detect and treat dementia at an early stage and also to treat diabetes patients whom had suffered from stroke. The risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease are insulin resistance and subsequent hyperinsulinemia. Diabetes also increases the incidence rate of vascular dementia by 3-4 times. The clinic focuses on examining cognitive functions and brain health, helping patients maintain quality of life.