Wound Care
Wound Care Specialists Here for You
For most people, cuts, scrapes, minor punctures, and surgical incisions heal naturally over time. But what happens if you have a wound that just won’t heal? In addition to sharing your concerns with your primary care doctor, it may be time to see a wound care specialist.
What is Wound Care?
Wound Care is a medical specialty focused on evaluating, treating, and managing wounds that aren’t healing naturally. Physicians and nurses who specialize in wound care have extensive training and experience in techniques and treatment methods developed to care for, and heal, cuts, burns, surgical wounds, trauma wounds, infected skin ulcers, and leg or ankle wounds caused by mal-functioning veins.
Symptoms & Risk Factors
If you or a loved one has a wound that does not show improvement after 30 days, it’s time to consult your doctor.
Additional signs that your wound needs evaluation may include:
- Color changes
- Severe pain or pain that is getting worse
- Swelling around the wound
- Redness, discharge, or other signs of infection
- Fever
- A bad odor coming from the wound
- Numbness around the wound
Non-healing wounds can be caused by a number of underlying conditions. The body needs lots of oxygen rich blood to heal its own wounds, and any disease or condition that negatively impacts blood flow can cause non-healing wounds.
Key risk factors include:
- Diabetes
- Peripheral neuropathy
- Lack of mobility/being bedridden
- Infection
- Edema (swelling)
- Smoking
- Excess alcohol consumption
- Poor nutrition
Wound Care Services
The Wound Care team at Community Memorial works in collaboration with patients and their primary care physicians to develop a customized treatment plan. Our team includes physicians with advanced training in wound management, highly specialized nurses, and experienced technicians.
Your individualized program will be implemented based on the most effective approach, which may include:
- Hyperbaric oxygen therapy
- Infectious disease management
- CT or MRI evaluation
- Vascular evaluation
- Total patient metabolic evaluation
- Diabetic education
- Obesity education and counseling
- Smoking education and counseling
- Physical therapy
- Nutrition coaching
- Advanced wound care bioengineered tissue
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy
Because wounds require a high concentration of oxygenated blood to heal, hyperbaric oxygen therapy may be prescribed for you or your loved one. This type of therapy involves being placed in a pressurized chamber that allows you to breathe and absorb pure oxygen for a period of time. This quick and effective delivery of highly-concentrated oxygen helps your wounds heal faster on their own.
Our hyperbaric chambers are located in comfortable treatment rooms and have clear sides, allowing you to see your surroundings at all times. Each treatment room is equipped with TVs and a selection of videos for viewing during treatment.
Our helpful staff is available to assist you with any questions you may have about your treatment plan or our wound care services. Please call us at 805-585-3086 for more information.
