ALPS Founding President receives Karel Bakker Lifetime Achievement Award for Science, Healthcare, and Advocacy for Limb Preservation

THE HAGUE, Netherlands, May 11, 2023 – Professor David G. Armstrong, the American Limb Preservation Society’s Founding President and DFCon Co-Chair, was honored with the highly esteemed 2023 Karel Bakker Award for Limb Preservation today, receiving a standing ovation at the 9th International Symposium on the Diabetic Foot held at the King Willem-Alexander Auditorium in The Hague, Netherlands. The Karel Bakker Award is conferred to those who have made extraordinary contributions to diabetic foot and limb preservation globally. This year’s award was presented during the symposium’s plenary sessions at the World Forum in The Hague.

Professor Nicholaas Schaper of Maastricht, presiding over the ceremony, described Armstrong as a pioneering surgeon-scientist and the leading authority in the field of limb preservation. Schaper also commended Armstrong for not only publishing over 640 peer-reviewed articles but also fostering a worldwide network of dedicated mentees working towards the same medical goal.

Armstrong delivered an impromptu acceptance speech, dedicating the award to their personal and professional successors. Armstrong emphasized the significance of paying it forward and assisting patients in moving forward in their lives. He said, “This award should be dedicated to our personal and our professional progeny. Here’s to paying it forward and helping our patients move through the world a little better every day.”

Receiving the Karel Bakker Award emphasizes Armstrong’s groundbreaking research and commitment to education, which has helped shape the future of diabetic foot and limb preservation, thereby significantly enhancing the lives of countless patients worldwide.