To help meet the needs of patients with chronic wounds, Crozer-Keystone Health System recently opened the Crozer-Keystone Center for Wound Healing and Hyperbaric Medicine, located in the North Campus building on the Crozer-Chester Medical Center campus.
“Millions of Americans suffer with chronic, non-healing wounds associated with diabetes, peripheral vascular disease, autoimmune disease and conditions that reduce their mobility,” says William J. Mannella, M.D., chairman of the Division of Surgery. “In these patients, wounds do not respond to a conservative course of treatment over a period of six to eight weeks. With the opening of the Center for Wound Healing and Hyperbaric Medicine, patients suffering with chronic wounds have access to advanced outpatient wound care, including hyperbaric oxygen therapy.”
Crozer’s multidisciplinary wound center staff comprises vascular surgeons, plastic surgeons, podiatrists and associated health care professionals, who provide each patient with an evaluation, diagnosis and treatment plan, as well as education to enhance the treatment outcome and prevent recurrence.
As part of its comprehensive services, select patients may benefit from hyperbaric oxygen therapy, in which the patient is enclosed in a pressurized chamber. Within the hyperbaric chamber, the patient breathes 100 percent oxygen, with increased atmospheric pressure that causes oxygen to dissolve in the blood.
The dissolved oxygen circulates easily throughout the body and stimulates damaged tissues to heal, red blood cells to grow and white bloods cells to fight infection.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy will be available for the following:
-
Acute peripheral arterial insufficiency, or sudden loss of blood flow to an artery due to a spasm, clot, plaques or other problem
-
Osteomyelitis, an infection of the bone often caused by a staph bacteria
-
Necrotizing infection, severe forms of cellulitis characterized by death of infected tissue
-
Preparation for and preservation of skin grafts and flaps
-
Diabetic wounds of the lower extremity
-
Osteoradionecrosis and soft tissue radionecrosis
For more information about the Comprehensive Wound Management Center, call (610) 619-8400 visit http://woundhealing.crozer.org.