Non Healing Wounds Specialist

What are non-healing wounds?

Non-healing wounds are sores that don't start to improve within two weeks or fail to heal completely within six weeks.

Types of non-healing wounds include:

• Pressure sores
• Surgical wounds
• Radiation sores
• Leg ulcers

Non-healing wounds can occur if something prevents your body from repairing the damaged tissues as it would normally.

What causes non-healing wounds?

The main reasons why you might get non-healing wounds are:

• Diabetes
• Chronic venous insufficiency
• Nerve damage
• Bone infection 
• Being inactive or immobile
• Weak immune system
• Poor nutrition
• Excessive alcohol consumption
• Smoking

These issues can affect your circulation and deprive the tissues of essential oxygen and cells that can repair the damage, without which wounds fail to heal.

Non-healing wounds can take months to heal and may become a chronic problem. Infected wounds sometimes lead to gangrene and amputation.

How are non-healing wounds treated?

Treating non-healing wounds is a specialized skill requiring input from a highly skilled wound care team. When you visit University Vascular for treatment, the first stages involve assessing and measuring your non-healing wound and confirming the underlying causes.

Next, you need to have the wound cleaned. To remove dead tissue from the wound, you might have to undergo debridement. This process involves cutting away the dead or infected skin and flesh to reveal healthy underlying tissues. If you have a deep non-healing wound, you might need a general anesthetic. 

Other ways of removing dead tissue from non-healing wounds include immersion in a whirlpool bath, washing with a syringe, using enzymes to dissolve the dead tissue, and applying wet dressings that absorb the tissues as they dry.

Next, your provider cleans the wound and applies a dressing to prevent it from drying out and to promote healing. Wound dressings can consist of gel, foam, gauze, film, or a combination of materials.

What else can I do to help non-healing wounds get better?

In addition to debridement, cleaning, and the use of dressings, you could also benefit from treatments such as:

• Hyperbaric oxygen therapy
• Wearing compression stockings
• Therapeutic ultrasound
• Negative pressure therapy
• Growth factor therapy

There's also an artificial skin available that covers non-healing wounds during the healing process.

It's vital to attend your regular appointments at University Vascular to have your dressings changed and enable the wound care team to monitor your non-healing wounds. They can also help you take steps to prevent these types of wounds from recurring.

If you have a non-healing wound, call University Vascular to schedule a consultation or book online today.