Some of the most serious medical issues I’ve treated in my 20 years as a surgeon started as tiny cuts on a heel or toe.
This is especially true for patients with chronic conditions such as diabetes, obesity or high cholesterol — a small abrasion can quickly turn into a serious wound that can actually result in a loss of mobility, intense pain and, in the most serious of cases, amputation.
An estimated 3 million to 5 million people in the United States suffer from non-healing wounds. But with advances in science and technology, wound care centers offer trained and highly qualified staff who specialize in healing these wounds before they cause big trouble.
One of the treatment options is Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, or HBOT, which treats wounds with high levels of oxygen while the patient reclines in a personalized oxygen chamber. HBOT, which is covered by Medicare and most insurance companies, is tailor-made for healing many types of chronic wounds and related infections because it provides the body with the oxygen it needs to heal.
Chronic wounds take years to develop, but often go unnoticed by patients and health-care providers. The lower leg is the most common location where chronic wounds develop. Some of these wounds may heal on their own, but in susceptible patients, that can take years. Specialized wound care can put patients on a much faster and less painful track to recovery. Quick treatment can lead to quick recovery.
If you have a wound or sore that doesn’t heal, tell your doctor or visit a wound care center. While it may be something small that will heal in a short period of time, the cost of not knowing for sure could grow into a much bigger pain.
Dr. Aurangzeb Ali is a chronic wound care specialist at The Advanced Wound and Hyperbaric Center in the Bristol Family Health Center. For more information or to schedule an appointment, please call 203.634.0134 or click here for more information on wound care.