Prisma Health Wound Care and Hyperbaric Medicine – Oconee

In order to provide a diagnosis and develop a specialized treatment plan, we will evaluate your wound and look for other possible underlying medical factors, working closely with your physician and other consulting physicians.

Once a treatment plan has been initiated, you will visit our team on a regular basis for specialized treatments and to document the progress of your healing. You will also receive education on how to perform your own wound care at home between visits, as well as how to protect your wound from further injury.

Wound treatments you receive will depend on your diagnosis and the extent of your wound. These may include:

• Wound care dressings
• Wound debridement
• Negative pressure wound therapy
• Compression therapy
• Hyperbaric oxygen therapy
• Pain management
• Patient education

Some of the wounds we commonly treat include:

• Diabetic wounds
• Pressure ulcers
• Burns
• Insect bites
• Trauma/injury
• Non-healing surgical wounds
• Wounds lasting more than 30 days
• Wounds refusing to improve after multiple therapies and treatments

To help in your healing, we may refer you to receive treatment in our hyperbaric medicine chamber.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is a simple yet advanced treatment that increases the oxygen level in body tissues to kill germs and promote healing. It is administered to patients inside a comfortable, spacious chamber pressurized in an oxygen rich environment. The chamber has clear sides through which you and see your surroundings, and is equipped with TV and sound.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy stimulates new blood vessel formation, enhances the effectiveness of antibiotics and preserves injured tissue or compromised skin flaps.If you suffer from a chronic or non-healing wound, ask your physician for a referral for our wound care services, or contact us directly for an assessment.

Wounds that do not heal in a timely fashion (typically two to four weeks) can become chronic, non-healing wounds. Most non-healing wounds are caused by conditions that restrict blood flow including diabetes, vascular disease and pressure ulcers.

Common wound types include:

• Diabetic foot ulcers – this is a serious complication of diabetes. Treatment often requires long-term hospital admissions and frequent outpatient visits. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is one treatment that may help to improve healing.
• Pressure ulcers – these are usually caused by unrelieved pressure and generally found over a bony prominence. Patients who are elderly, malnourished, bedridden or paralyzed are more prone to this type of wound.
• Lower extremity and foot ulcers – often associated with diabetes, venous disease or arterial disease. Patients with circulation problems or poor sensation are prone to ulcers in the legs and feet.
• Atypical wounds – may be related to collagen disorders, autoimmune diseases, cancer, trauma or surgery. Also includes wounds that are not healing in a timely manner.