At the EWMA 2023 Conference in Milan, several elected and co-opted new members were welcomed to the EWMA Council, one of them being: José Luis Lázaro.
About José Luis Lázaro
José Luis Lázaro is a prominent figure in the field of diabetic foot care, currently working at the Complutense University in Madrid, Spain. His journey from foot surgery to specialising in diabetic foot care has been driven by professional dedication and personal passion.
In this interview, José Luis shares his unique path into the field, his commitment to improving diabetic foot care, and his vision for enhancing awareness and treatment across Europe.
A Journey from Foot Surgery to Diabetic Foot Care
José Luis’s expertise in diabetic foot care began with a strong foundation in foot surgery. “My specialisation was at the beginning with foot surgery,” he explains. After completing his degree at the university, José Luis travelled to the United States to further his education in foot surgery. Upon returning to Spain, he initially focused on general foot surgery. However, a chance encounter with a conference on diabetic foot care changed the course of his career.
At this conference, José Luis noticed a significant gap in the discussion around the role of foot surgeons in treating diabetic foot patients. “I was wondering why there is nothing regarding the role of foot surgeons in this kind of patients,” he recalls.
This realisation sparked his interest in diabetic foot care, leading him to dedicate his career to this critical area of healthcare. “After that, I started to work with this issue,” he says, emphasising how his work now spans clinical activities, research, and professional education.
Leading the Diabetic Foot Committee at EWMA
José Luis’s commitment to diabetic foot care extends beyond his work in Spain. In addition to being elected as a new co-opted member of the EWMA Council, he was recently appointed chair of the EWMA Diabetic Foot Committee. These roles allow him to address the broader challenges faced by diabetic foot patients across Europe.
“I can see that it is a very important matter inside foot care,” he explains, noting that EWMA provides a significant platform for raising awareness and promoting best practices.
One of the key issues José Luis highlights is the lack of specialisation in treating diabetic foot complications. “Sometimes these patients are attending different hospitals without any specialisation,” he notes.
He believes that organising a multidisciplinary approach and increasing early referrals and appropriate treatment are essential for reducing lower limb amputations—a severe and often preventable complication of diabetes. “Without any doubt, I think this is a necessity in Europe to improve diabetic foot management,” he asserts.
Vision for the Future of Diabetic Foot Care
Looking forward, José Luis hopes to see greater implementation of guidelines and recommendations in wound therapy across Europe. “My hopes for EWMA are to improve the implementation of many guidelines of recommendation that we have around wound therapy,” he says.
Additionally, he emphasises the need to increase awareness among healthcare providers, not just specialists, but all professionals involved in patient care. “It’s important for healthcare providers to be generally aware of how significant wounds are and how critical these kinds of patients are for every national healthcare system.” he stresses.
The EWMA Council
The Council is the main deciding body of EWMA.
The Council decides the overall goals and strategy of the association, what projects the organisation will work on, as well as preparing the yearly EWMA Conference.
There are 20 members of the council as well as appointed representatives of partner organizations.
All members of EWMA have the opportunity to candidate for Council in the annual election held prior to the EWMA conference.
