Wound Care

Our wound care specialists take pride in providing state of the art, innovative, evidence based wound management. Every patient with a wound receives a comprehensive individualized wound care program with the help of a team of dedicated wound care professionals with many years of experience in this field. The specialized aspects of wound care are coordinated with a patient's primary care or referring physician. When required, physicians from other specialties become involved in the patient's care. Some of the specialists patients are referred to include vascular surgeons, orthopedic, plastic and general surgeons, podiatrists, orthotists and prosthetists, nutritionists, physical therapists and others.

As we age, the body's ability to heal ourselves diminishes. Most wounds heal without any help from a physician; however, some wounds just do not heal in a timely manner. Diseases such as diabetes and venous insufficiency of the legs markedly diminishes our abilities to heal wounds in a timely fashion. It is estimated that in the U.S., 1.1 to 1.8 million new wounds occur every year. According to the American Diabetes Association there are over 23 million diabetics (8% of the population) in the country, and many of these diabetics will have a chronic non-healing wound sometime in their lives.

Other types of wounds also benefit from the state of the art wound healing technology. These include wounds from injury, post operative wounds, wounds resulting from cancer treatments, spider bites, infections and many others.

Each chronic wound assumes unique characteristics and requires comprehensive wound care that may include the use of wound vacuum treatment, specialized wound dressings and bio-engineered skin substitutes. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) may also be required. HBOT allows hyperoxygenation to occur which results in supporting wound healing when implemented as adjunctive to appropriate wound care regimen.

With the advances made in the field of wound care, patients now have an array of treatment options available to them. In addition to HBOT, some of the wound healing technologies we use include:

• Negative Pressure Wound Therapy (wound vacuum device)
  
  
• Bio-engineered Skin Substitutes
  
  
• Specialized Wound Dressings

Negative Pressure Wound Therapy

This technology refers to a "vacuum" device placed on the wound. It promotes healing of many chronic and acute wounds by drawing the edges of the wound tegether; removing the drainage, and removing infectious materials from the wound. It also works by promoting increased blood flow to the area being treated. Examples of wounds treated by this device include pressure ulcers (such as deep bed sores), diabetic ulcers, and abdominal wounds. For more information about Negative Pressure Wound Therapy (NPWT) and V.A.C.® visit www.woundvac.com.

Bio-engineered Skin Substitutes

Skin substitutes, such as Dermagraft®, and Apligraf®, are a bioabsorbable matrix of collagen (or other materials) populated with living fibroblast and keratinocyte cells made in a laboratory and placed on the wound bed in order to promote healing.

Specialized Wound Dressings

A variety of specialized wound dressings are used to aid in wound care therapy. Some examples of these treatment options include:

• Collagen dressings: These nonadhesive, nonocclusive dressings like Integra® and Oasis®, are formulated with bovine or porcine collagen.

• Specialty collagen products: Combined with oxidized regenerated cellulose, these dressings include Promogran®,Prisma®.
  

• Other wound coverings that are used include hydrogels, hydrocolloid, foam dressings, alginates, composite dressings, specialty absorptive dressings, and anti-microbial silver products.