We Put You First
There are many medical conditions, even ones that you may not be aware of, that cause non-healing wounds. We perform a series of diagnostic tests and, once a cause is clearly identified and understood, inform your physician. We will then work with him or her to develop your wound treatment plan. This collaborative approach helps to assure you that your doctors know about the treatments and medications you receive to help heal your wound.
Conditions We Treat
Insurance Coverage
Many health plans cover wound care treatment. Your coverage depends on your specific plan. Be sure to bring your insurance cards with you when you visit our clinic.
Please Call For An Appointment
Making an appointment is the first step to getting better. Ask your doctor to contact us, or feel free to call yourself. Our number is (713)935-0020.
We are here to help you feel better.
Diabetics are at greater risk of infection than the general population. Diabetics are also prone to foot ulceration since they may not have protective sensation in their feet. Foot ulcers are caused by excessive pressure or rubbing against the skin from things like poor-fitting shoes, walking barefoot, or stepping on a sharp object.
The key factors in treating diabetic foot ulcers include:
- Prevention of infection
- Taking pressure off the area
- Removing dead skin and tissue
- Applying medication and/or dressings to the ulcer
- Managing blood glucose and other health problems
Venous Disease refers to a disorder of the veins of the body most commonly affecting the lower extremities. Common venous problems include varicose veins, thrombophlebitis, deep venous thrombosis (DVT or blood clot), and venous stasis ulcers. Venous ulcers are the most common type of ulcer affecting the lower extremities. Typical venous ulcers appear near the ankle and are usually moderately painful. Indications that a wound is a venous ulcer include irregular shape, superficial ulceration, and the presence of drainage.
Treatment of venous ulcers can be lengthy. The goals of treatment are prevention of infection, control of drainage, maintaining a moist environment, providing compression to control swelling, promoting patient activity, and controlling pain.
Patient education is very important since the underlying venous problem is often life long. In some selected cases surgical or interventional treatment may cure the underlying venous disorder. Identifying which patients are amenable to curative treatment is a major goal in the assessment of patients with venous ulcers.
Patients at high risk for developing pressure ulcers include bedridden patients, paraplegics, or quadriplegics. A patient with impaired physical function, impaired mental function, impaired mobility, and/or incontinence is also at high risk of developing a pressure ulcer. Tissue breakdown occurs when too much pressure is applied to one area for a prolonged period of time. This typically occurs most commonly close to a bony prominence. Pressure ulcers commonly occur over the buttocks, hips, spine, shoulder, ankles, and heels. The key to pressure ulcer prevention requires the education of health care professionals, patients, families, and/or caregivers.
General principles of pressure ulcer treatment include:
- Pressure relief over bony prominences
- Removal of dead tissue
- Optimization of the wound environment to promote healing
- Avoidance of trauma, friction, and shear force
- Searching for underlying conditions which may cause ulcer development or impede wound healing
Trauma or injury to the body may result in a loss of tissue layers and may result in damage or loss of body parts or organs. Trauma may also compromise the arterial, venous, or lymphatic systems of the body. Treatment of traumatic ulcers would include:
- Assessment of cause
- Prevention of infection
- Pain relief
- Use of proper dressing to promote wound healing
Complete or partial arterial blockage can lead to ulceration. There are several signs that indicate possible blockage of an artery. They include:
- Lack of a pulse in the extremity
- Pain while resting
- Cool or cold skin
- Thin, dry, or shiny appearing skin
- Loss of foot or toe hair
- Purple coloration of the feet
If your medical history and exam suggest the presence of arterial disease, you may have tests to measure blood flow or to locate a blockage in your arteries.
Treatment of an arterial ulcer primarily involves increasing circulation to the area in question. If your circulation is severely impaired, procedures such as angioplasty or bypass surgery may be recommended and this in turn will help to heal your wound.
We have a hyperbaric chamber on the hospital campus to assist in wound care healing for some patients. This clear acrylic chamber provides 100 percent oxygen to promote the optimum healing environment.
While lying inside the chamber, a patient breathes pure oxygen. Their blood plasma becomes saturated, carrying 20 to 30 times the normal amount of oxygen to the body's tissues and helping natural wound healing mechanisms to function more efficiently. Continued use of hyperbaric oxygen treatment increases the body's immune and healing response.
Conditions that may benefit from hyperbaric oxygen treatment include:
- Diabetic wounds of the lower extremity
- Post-radiation tissue injury
- Crush injuries
- Wounds caused by poor circulation or trauma
- Compromised grafts and flaps
- Gas Gangrene
- Pressure ulcers
- Necrotizing soft tissue infections
- Acute traumatic peripheral ischemia
- Compromised skin grafts and flaps
- Chronic Osteomyelitis
- Actinomycosis
The hyperbaric chamber has its own TV/VCR and CD player so patients can watch television or listen to music during treatment. The completely transparent chamber allows patients to see the room around them, and keeps patients clearly visible to staff administering the treatment.
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