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Wound Care

Ours is a multidisciplinary team with advanced training in chronic wound care. A wound that won’t heal properly can become chronic leading to life altering conditions. Proper wound care is important to prevent serious downstream issues, such as infections that spread throughout your body.

Treatment of Wounds

Advanced wound treatment techniques, interdisciplinary care, patient education, products and services are designed as part of customized treatment plans developed to meet each individual’s unique needs.

Our wound care treatment services include:

  • Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT)
  • Bio-engineered living tissue
  • Skin Substitutes
  • Becaplermin (Regranex)
  • Negative pressure wound dressings
  • Multi-layer Compression Dressings
  • Total Contact Casting
  • Dietitian evaluation
  • At-home wound care

 

Am I a Candidate for Wound Care?

Do you or a loved one need help to promote the healing of a stubborn wound? Find out if you are a candidate for wound care by answering a few questions.

If you answer “yes” to any of the questions below, you may be a candidate for wound care. Contact us or schedule an appointment online to get started.

  1. My wound hasn’t healed after four weeks of conventional treatment.
  2. My wound shows muscle, tendon or bone.
  3. I have a non-healing wound and also have an immune disease, diabetes or peripheral vascular disease (PVD).
  4. My wound has an aggressive bacterial infection that is causing the tissue around it to die (including gas gangrene and flesh-eating bacteria disease).
  5. I have a bone infection associated with my wound.
  6. I have intestinal bleeding, blood in my urine, or a wound as a side effect of radiation therapy.
  7. My wound was caused by a crush injury like a car accident, fall or gunshot.
  8. My skin graft, flap or sutured limb is failing to “take” after the grafting or re-attachment procedure.
  9. I have chronic lower extremity swelling, especially if associated with weeping, blisters, infections, or ulcers.
  10. I have sudden unexplained hearing loss (Idiopathic Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss)

 

Doctor checking out foot

Diabetic Lower Extremity Wounds

A diabetic foot ulcer is an open sore or wound that is commonly located on the bottom of the foot. Diabetes is currently the leading cause of all non-traumatic lower extremity amputations in the United States.

There is one diabetic related amputation performed every 20 seconds with over 2,500 limbs being lost per day due to infection and a poorly controlled disease process. 25% of those with diabetes will have a lifetime risk of developing a lower extremity wound with more than 50% of those becoming infected requiring hospitalization. Once an individual has had a lower extremity wound they carry a 68% risk of reamputation over 5 years unless one changes their habits and life styles. All of this can be prevented with a team approach towards care and a focus on prevention.

A diabetic foot ulcer is an open sore or wound that is commonly located on the bottom of the foot. Diabetes is currently the leading cause of all non-traumatic lower extremity amputations in the United States.

 

Causes of Diabetic Lower Extremity Wounds (Foot Wounds)

Anyone who has diabetes can develop a foot ulcer. Those who use insulin are at higher risk of developing a foot ulcer, as are patients with diabetes-related kidney, eye, heart and circulatory disease. Being overweight and using alcohol and tobacco also play a role in the development of foot ulcers and subsequent amputations. Other causes include:

  • Lack of sensation to the foot
  • Poor circulation
  • Foot deformities
  • Irritation from shoes (such as friction or pressure)
  • Trauma
  • Neuropathy (loss of sensation leading to a reduced or complete lack of ability to feel pain in the feet due to nerve damage)
  • Vascular disease
Symptoms of Diabetic Foot Wounds

Many who develop foot ulcers have lost the ability to feel pain. Pain is not a symptom of a foot ulcer and often the first sign many notice is drainage on their socks. Redness and swelling may also be associated with the ulceration and, if it has progressed significantly, odor may be present.

Diagnosis and Treatment of Diabetic Foot Ulcers

The primary goal in diabetic foot ulcer treatment is healing the wound as soon as possible. The faster the healing, the less chance exists for infection and amputation. There are several key factors in the appropriate treatment of a diabetic foot ulcer:

  • Removing dead skin and tissue, called “debridement”
  • Applying medications and/or dressings to the ulcer
  • Prevention of infection
  • Removing the pressure off the area, called “off-loading”
  • You may be asked to wear special footgear such as a brace, castings, etc.
  • Managing blood sugar levels and other health problems
  • Adequate circulation

Not all ulcers are considered infected; however, if your physician diagnoses an infection, a diabetic foot ulcer treatment program of antibiotics, wound care, and possibly hospitalization may be required.

A List of Wound Related Conditions We Treat

  • Actinomycosis
  • Acute Arterial Insufficiency Ulcers
  • Acute Traumatic Peripheral Ischemia
  • Arterial Ulcers
  • Autoimmune Wounds
  • Bone Infections
  • Bunion
  • Compromised skin flaps and grafts
  • Crush Injuries
  • Gangrene
  • Diabetic Foot Ulcers
  • Failed Skin Grafts and Flaps
  • Ischemic Ulcers
  • Neuropathic Ulcers
  • Nail Problems
  • Necrotizing Infections
  • Non-Healing Wounds
  • Osteomyelitis
  • Osteoradionecrosis of the Jaw
  • Peristomal Skin Irritations
  • Post-surgical Wounds
  • Pressure Ulcers
  • Radiation Cystitis
  • Radiation Proctitis
  • Soft Tissue Radiation Necrosis
  • Soft Tissue Wounds
  • Some burns
  • Traumatic Wounds
  • Varicose Vein Wounds
  • Venous Stasis Ulcers
  • Venous Insufficiency
  • Vasculitis
  • Wounds caused by foot infections
  • Wounds caused by insect bites