Injectable silicone and the diabetic foot: a 25-year report

Abstract

Between 1966 and 1989, 30 diabetic patients received fluid silicone injections as a subdermal soft tissue prosthesis for treatment of 39 insensitive foot ulcers and 16 painless plantar keratoses without prior ulceration. There was a history of prior keratoses at 38 of 39 ulcer sites, all but 3 of which were injected after healing. Each patient wore regular shoes postinjection. Significant findings were an absence of complications and a marked reduction of ulcer and keratosis recurrence. Histologic study of 18 autopsied skin specimens concluded that fluid silicone provides a relatively stable fibrosis and histiocytosis with prominent perivascular and perineural distribution. The fluid is not approved for human injection by the United States Food and Drug Administration.