Floyd Memorial Opens Comprehensive Wound Healing Center
November 10th, 2007
Floyd Memorial is pleased to announce the opening of its Wound Healing Center. It is the latest extension of the wound care program that began in 1996, when the hospital’s Joslin Diabetes Center Affiliate was opened. At that time, the need for a wound care program became apparent. The rate of amputation for people with diabetes is ten times that of people without diabetes, and amputation is often the result of a foot wound that will not heal. Through the expertise of Rodney Chou, MD, physical medicine and rehabilitation specialist, a high-risk foot clinic was added. “According to the Centers for Disease Control, more than 60 percent of nontraumatic lower-limb amputations occur in people with diabetes,” said Dr. Chou. “With a proper foot care program, amputation rates can be reduced by 45 to 85 percent.“
A Multi-Disciplinary Approach to Care
With the opening of the new center, Floyd Memorial is expanding the wound care program by utilizing a multi-disciplinary approach, including additional emphasis on lower extremity wounds. As Dr. Chou explained, “Over the years, we have grown to the point where we are seeing a lot of wounds in addition to those in people with diabetes. With the Wound Healing Center, we are bringing together a team of experts from a variety of specialties to serve the people of this area. It is a multi-disciplinary approach to prevention, healing and limb salvage.” He added, “A big part of what we do is preventive care and education for patients and families. With pressure ulcers, for example, we’re teaching people how to get the right shoes, chairs or beds to help keep problems from developing in the first place.”
The center brings together the expertise of a multi-disciplinary team of physicians and board-certified wound ostomy nurses who specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of acute and chronic wounds. This approach brings patients access to all the specialties needed to receive the best possible program of care. Along with Medical Director Dr. Chou, podiatry specialists William T. Beasley, DPM, and Syed Ahmed, DPM, will also have clinical hours at the center. Dr. Beasley has over 30 years of experience in caring for patients with lower extremity wounds and has helped establish a number of top wound care centers. Dr. Ahmed brings extensive training in foot and ankle surgery and limb salvage from Loyola Medical Center in Chicago. Additional referral services include interventional radiology, vascular surgery and plastic and reconstructive surgery. And, because of the innovative partnership between Floyd Memorial and Kleinert Kutz, patients of the Wound Healing Center also have access to the Kleinert Kutz Surgery Center in New Albany and its world-class team of doctors.
All Types of Wounds are Treated
The Wound Healing Center will offer expert care for wounds of all types, including diabetic ulcers; pressure ulcers; venous stasis ulcers (common in patients with severe varicose veins or blood clots); ischemic ulcers (caused by poor blood supply); vasulitis (inflammation of the blood vessels in patients with conditions such as arthritis); traumatic and surgical wounds; spider bites; ulcers brought on by chemotherapy; and non-healing sores in patients with skin cancer.
According to Dr. Ahmed, a thorough foot exam includes the following:
- Assessment of neuropathy and protective sensations in the foot.
- Measurement of the Ankle Brachial Index, a comparison of blood pressure in the foot to blood pressure in the arm, to test blood circulation to the foot.
- A biomechanics assessment to look for irregularities in the person’s gait, which might cause pressure points that could lead to calluses and blisters.
- A check for Charcot foot, a condition in which a broken bone in the foot goes undetected because of neuropathy and leads to the destruction of soft tissue.
- A careful examination of the skin, corns and calluses, nails, hammertoes and bunions.
Wounds Should be Treated Immediately
If a person with diabetes develops a wound, he or she should see a doctor right away. “Treatment may involve debriding the wound, antibiotics, surgery or a combination of approaches,” said Dr. Beasley. “The goal is to prevent the wound from becoming limb threatening.” One important benefit of the new Wound Healing Center is the availability of experts from a variety of specialties to treat the wound. “If the problem is being exacerbated by a lack of circulation, for example, opening the artery in the leg with angioplasty and stenting may be the optimum course of treatment. All these adjunct therapies, from vascular surgery and interventional radiology to plastic surgery for skin grafting, are accessible through the center,” said Dr. Ahmed.