14 Bringing health care news to your home Expert wound care to help you heal Wound Ostomy Clinic brings advanced wound therapies to our community If you’re one of the many people in our community living with a chronic wound, you should know this: You don’t have to travel to Omaha or Lincoln to find specialized wound care, including some of the most advanced treatments available. Columbus Community Hospital’s Wound Ostomy Clinic (W.O.C.) offers state-of-the-art wound care to help you get back to a fuller life. Wounds that resist healing Chronic wounds are those that don’t heal after about six weeks. They often become infected, causing pain, redness and drainage at the wound site. In these cases, the normal healing process often stalls early during what’s called the inflammatory phase. “Most of our advanced therapies are targeted at getting that wound to go from that chronic inflammatory phase to a more favorable situation for healing,” said Jeremy Albin, MD, a general surgeon and certified wound specialist. A variety of factors can contribute to wounds and poor healing, including: Diabetes. Diabetes can cause nerve damage and circulation issues. Obesity. Excess weight means increased pressure on the legs, and obesity can also lead to circulatory problems. Pressure. Pressure wounds develop when there’s prolonged pressure on a body part. Problems with the veins or lymphatic system in the legs. With venous insufficiency, vein problems cause blood to pool in the legs, increasing pressure that can break down the skin. Another problem, lymphedema, can hamper fluid drainage in the lower legs and cause wounds. Fortunately, the W.O.C. is equipped to manage wounds caused by these and other conditions. Treatments tailored to your wound A variety of wound treatments are available, ranging from relatively simple to advanced approaches, including: Surgical debridement. Removing unhealthy or dead tissue from a wound can help it heal. Compression therapy. Special garments help improve healing by keeping blood and fluids moving through the legs. Wound VAC (vacuum-assisted closure) therapy. This approach uses negative pressure to help seal and heal wounds, speeding wound closure. “That therapy really helps with patient comfort,” said Albin. Targeted antibiotic therapies. “A lot of times, wounds don’t heal because of a low-lying chronic infection,” Albin noted. In these situations, he prescribes antibiotics to treat the infection. Advanced dressings. Dozens of different dressings are available, including wet or dry ones and treatments that provide healing cells. “We have a broad variety of products that we can tailor for each individual patient,” Albin said. At the W.O.C., you’ll have access to advanced imaging technologies, including infrared and heat-mapping imaging to indicate blood flow and detect infections early — often before symptoms are noticeable. These tools, combined with hospital-based vascular studies such as ultrasound, help improve overall care.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy ODQ1MTY=