Diabetes, and the complications that come with its natural history, entwine with morbidity and mortality data that, unfortunately, have not improved over several decades.
Vascular surgeons….few people know what we do until they need us. Wound care would be one of the best examples of a service provided by a diverse team of nurses, advanced practitioners, medical doctors and surgeons for everything from slow to heal minor traumatic wounds to complex chronic ulcerations. To have a patient referred to our practice with a chronic wound, apply advanced wound care techniques, and have the patient walk out of the wound care center weeks later with a healed wound is one of the most satisfying parts of being a healthcare provider.
After years of surgical training, I thought I knew about wounds when I started in practice in 2011. As it turns out I had a lot to learn, especially from the wound care nurses with decades of cumulative wound care experience. The principles of debridement, advanced biologic dressings and hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) were not covered in any significant detail until Wound care and HBOT certification courses opened my eyes to many options available to patients beyond what I had learned in my training.
Most wounds are related to a lack of blood flow (peripheral artery disease), swelling (chronic venous insufficiency), and/or inflammation (lymphedema) or a combination of all three. Vascular surgeons are well equipped to treat extremity wounds related to diabetes, hardening of the arteries, and leaky veins. We work closely with medicine doctors and other specialties such as podiatry, plastic surgery and physical therapy to accelerate healing.
Testing usually begins with an ultrasound to assess blood flow. Once blood flow to a wound is maximized to bring oxygen and nutrients to a wound, wound care providers place protein or special cellular dressings to promote healing. Specialized nurses apply these dressings and gentle compression wraps during weekly wound care visits until the wound is healed. Coordinated wound care with a specialized team can shorten the healing time of a wound by weeks or months!
If you or a loved one has been struggling to heal a wound, Vascular Surgery Associates provides expert wound care services in our offices and advanced wound care in multiple hospital- based accredited wound care centers. Please call Vascular Surgery Associates 1-855-648-9982 or visit www.vascularsurgeryassociates.net to schedule an appointment.
Carter Freiburg, MD joined Vascular Surgery Associates in 2011 after completing his Vascular Surgery Fellowship at Yale Univerisity. Dr Freiburg is the Medical Director of the Carroll Hospital Wound Care Center, Head of the Division of Vascular Surgery and Vice Chair of Surgery at Carroll Hospital Center in Westminster, Maryland.
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