Wound Care
Wound Care Team at POACC is dedicated in caring for patients with acute and chronic non healing wounds.
With our team effort we have established an impressive record in healing these acute and chronic ulcers.
The wound care program stresses the basics of common sense medical and surgical care combined with the most advanced wound care technologies, (hyperbaric medicine, growth factors, bioengineered tissue and advanced dressing materials).
In general the body’s ability to heal is taken for granted. In fact, the healing process is quite complex. During normal healing, cells of our body proliferate and divide, releasing growth factors. New blood vessels are created, a collagen matrix is formed, and remodeling occurs. These steps follow an orderly, predictable course. Each step depends upon the availability of appropriate substrates and nutritional elements. For some patients, certain conditions alter this course and derail the healing process. When this happens, destructive processes can outpace healing, and the wound can become chronic.
The number of individuals with diabetes and diabetic ulcers are growing each year. Diabetes causes microangiopathic changes in the eye and kidney. These changes also occur in the foot, a common site for non-healing wounds. Mostly patients with diabetic ulcers or feet will undergo surgical amputation as a result of a non-healing wound. These amputees face a long, costly rehabilitation, and permanently reduced mobility and independence.
Other conditions can also lead to the development of non-healing wounds, including peripheral vascular disease, arterial or venous ulcers, traumatic injury, complications following surgery, rheumatoid arthritis, congestive heart failure, lymph edema and other conditions which compromise circulation.
In addition to local factors such as pressure, infection or edema, systemic problems can also impair normal healing. Patients who are immunocompromised because of collagen vascular disease, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, or diabetes mellitus are at risk. Certain medications can suppress the healing response. Inadequate large-vessel perfusion and oxygenation can impede healing by reducing the oxygen supply to the damaged tissue. (For this reason, smoking cessation in affected patients is critically important.)