The DFA, which features lectures, workshops and surgeries, targets cosmetic, orthopedic and general surgeons. Participants will receive certificates of achievements from the University of California.

This is the second DFA organized by Smith & Nephew, a global medical technology company, in Jeddah after the success of the first one, held in April 2011 with the participation of 50 physicians.

Diabetic foot disease is a common and serious complication of diabetes, highly prevalent in Saudi Arabia and the region and frequently results in foot amputations, which are avoidable with good patient education and prevention protocols.

The FDA will be presided over by Dr. Khaled bin Abdullah Tayeb, consultant diabetologist and endocrinologist, and director of the Diabetes & Endocrinology Center, Al-Nour Specialist Hospital in Makkah.

Tayeb stressed the importance of training physicians and nurses in diabetes care. The DFA helps attending physicians to examine cases and develop skills and judgment in treating this serious disease.

The DFA has been accredited by the department of surgery and orthopedics at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine.

The Middle East and North African regions are among the most affected by the consequences of diabetes with prevalence in the GCC of between 25 percent and 35 percent of the adult population.

Due to cultural, social, educational and climate factors, the incidence of lower limb lesions (an injury or damage which causes changes to the skin and organ) including foot ulcers among diabetic patients is very high — affecting about half of all diabetic patients.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the number of diabetes patients in Saudi Arabia is expected to grow 283 percent between 2000 and 2030, due to changes in lifestyle and diet leading to increasing levels of obesity. Heart disease and diabetes are two of the main causes of death in the Kingdom.