Mölnlycke Links 85% of Diabetic Amputations to Foot Ulcers

Mölnlycke Health Care reports that 85% of diabetes-related lower-limb amputations in Mexico are preceded by an unhealed foot ulcer, underscoring gaps in early wound intervention across the public health system. This matters as Mexico's General Health Council makes cardio-renal-metabolic protocols mandatory for public institutions starting Aug. 25, 2026, targeting a disease cluster responsible for 80% of the country's chronic disease burden. Affected stakeholders include IMSS, ISSSTE, IMSS-Bienestar, medical device suppliers, and wound-care technology providers, as institutions face new procurement, training, and electronic-records obligations tied to diabetes and chronic wound management. 

Mölnlycke Health Care, a Swedish medical technology company specializing in wound care and surgical solutions, says approximately 85% of lower-limb amputations among people with diabetes in Mexico are preceded by a foot ulcer that failed to heal in time. The company presented the figure on chronic wound care, framing early identification of non-healing wounds as a determining factor in preventing severe complications, including amputation.

"When a wound does not progress, we have to identify what is holding back healing and look for alternatives that help reactivate that process," says Otilia Cruz, President, Mexican Association of Advanced Practice in Comprehensive Skin Care.(AMPACIP). "Acting promptly in people with diabetes is especially important to prevent the lesion from evolving into complications that could put a limb at risk."

Pedro Schildknecht, LATAM General Manager and Wound Care Business Director, Mölnlycke Health Care, ties the figure to the company's broader clinical focus. "Wound care is our main line of business," says Schildknecht. "We want to bring that experience to Mexico in the face of a particularly relevant challenge such as hard-to-heal wounds."

Mexico's diabetes burden underpins the announcement. Citing the National Health and Nutrition Survey (Ensanut) 2021-2024, Mölnlycke says 14.4 million adults live with type 2 diabetes in the country and 5.4 million remain undiagnosed. Nerve damage from diabetes can mask a cut, blister, or sore, while circulation problems slow healing, a combination the company links directly to the pathway toward amputation. A separate Ensanut Continua 2022 measurement found that 18.4% of adults over age 20 have diabetes, one of the data points behind the government's decision to make five cardio-renal-metabolic National Medical Care Protocols mandatory for public health institutions . 

That mandate, which covers chronic kidney disease, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and obesity, addresses a disease cluster the General Health Council says accounts for 80% of the country's chronic non-communicable disease burden, and it gives public institutions 90 days to file implementation plans, a timeline that could accelerate procurement of prevention and wound-management tools such as Granulox.

Beyond diabetes, company representatives said at the briefing that Mexico's aging population, reduced mobility, and traumatic injuries, including motorcycle accidents, are also driving a rise in complex wounds that require advanced management. Broader industry studies on advanced wound care cited during the meeting found cost reductions of 50%-60%, tied to shorter hospital stays and fewer interactions with the health system, though the company noted that figure does not apply specifically to Granulox.

Founded in Sweden in 1849, Mölnlycke employs more than 8,500 people and operates in more than 100 countries, organizing its portfolio into four business areas: wound care, surgical solutions, gloves, and antiseptics. Wound care represents the company's principal line of business worldwide. In Mexico, where it has operated for more than 12 years, the company offers 25 of its 56 global product lines.

Granulox, the technology at the center of the announcement, is a topical oxygenation spray based on purified hemoglobin, designed to help oxygen reach the wound bed without hyperbaric chambers or external devices. The product holds sanitary registration with Mexico's health regulator, the Federal Commission for the Protection against Sanitary Risks (COFEPRIS), and a listing in the National Compendium of Health Supplies, allowing its use across public institutions. Mölnlycke says Granulox is present in more than 300 public and private hospitals across 24 states and has reached approximately 300,000 patients in Mexico, positioning the country as the largest adopter of the technology in Latin America and the second-largest worldwide, according to company estimates.

To document local clinical experience, Mölnlycke ran its first National Clinical Case Contest for Granulox in 2026, receiving 75 submissions from an estimated 175-180 healthcare professionals, most from the public sector. Ten cases advanced as finalists, and three winners, addressing Fournier gangrene, necrotizing fasciitis, and a post-surgical abdominal wound, will complete specialized training in 2027 at Universidad Complutense de Madrid under José Luis Lázaro, director of that university's Diabetic Foot Unit.

José Ramón Velasco, Mexico Country Manager, Mölnlycke Health Care, connects the initiative to patient outcomes. "Innovation makes sense when it contributes to changing the course of a wound and, with that, a person's life," says Velasco.

Training underpins the rollout. Mölnlycke says it trained close to 5,000 healthcare professionals in advanced wound care during 2025 and reached a similar volume through 2026, combining in-person courses with digital tools aimed at reaching practitioners outside major cities. The push comes as Mexico's broader chronic-disease investment landscape accelerates, with pharmaceutical and medical technology companies already adjusting strategy around the country's obesity and diabetes burden, from beverage-tax compliance to GLP-1 market entry. For medical device suppliers operating in the wound-care segment, Mölnlycke's push, alongside the government's new mandatory protocols, signals rising institutional demand for prevention and early-intervention technologies across Mexico's public health system.