Many Fijians with diabetes are having their limbs amputated due to blockages in their arteries.

Around 15 percent of Fiji’s adult population is suffering from diabetes and about 40 percent of all surgeries are amputations.

Oceania Hospital Interventional Cardiologist, Dr Prakash Gore says early detection and treatment is vital to prevent loss of limbs.

“We have got facilities here at Oceania Hospital and we are doing the angiogram for the hands and the legs. We can do stenting in those arteries also. Even in the CWM, they are capable of doing that. So the earlier we can screen the patients for the symptoms we can treat them before it’s too late.”

Dr Gore says awareness is important so that Fijians can present themselves at an early stage and that prompt referrals are also important.