When it comes to healing chronic wounds, time and timing are both important, but so is an innovative type of medicine.
While they may look like something out of a science-fiction novel, two hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) chambers now available at
Borgess Medical Center provide healing benefits that are very real. The two chambers, part of the comprehensive services offered through the Borgess Wound Healing and Hyperbaric Center, have been operational since last November in the North Professional Building.
"This center has been designed to bridge the gap between acute management of chronic wounds and outpatient care, which before was typically provided through home health visits," says David Davenport, MD, medical director, Borgess Wound Healing and Hyperbaric Center. "Home care is still essential, but having a dedicated center allows multidisciplinary specialists to see patients more regularly, and deliver a coordinated approach that can make a huge difference in outcomes."
These outcomes can mean the difference between losing and saving a limb. For example, studies continue to show that state-of-the-art therapy like hyperbaric oxygen therapy offers high success rates for the treatment of chronic wounds (chronic wounds are defined as wounds that do not heal within 30 days). The therapy boosts the body’s natural healing ability.
"Patients lie down in a clear chamber that increases atmospheric pressure with 100-percent pure oxygen," Dr. Davenport says. "Body tissues need oxygen to thrive. Increased oxygen (patients breathe in two to three times more oxygen than in a normal, non-pressurized setting) accelerates and improves the healing process, and enhances blood circulation for those at risk of losing a limb."
It’s estimated that 5 million Americans have a non-healing or chronic wound, a growing threat costing the U.S. healthcare system over $25 billion annually. "Hypberbaric oxygen therapy is effective for a variety of complicated wounds, including diabetic foot ulcers, post-surgical foot wounds, bone infection, failed skin grafts or flaps, damage from radiation therapy and arterial wounds," says Mary Beth Kaiser, certified wound, ostomy and continence nurse (CWOCN) and program director, Borgess Wound Healing and Hyperbaric Center.
Diabetic foot ulcers are one of the primary wounds Kaiser and Dr. Davenport see at the Borgess Wound Healing and Hyperbaric Center. More than 8 percent of the U.S. population has diabetes (about 66,000 people in Southwest Michigan alone). Every year, 5 percent of diabetics develop foot ulcers and 1 percent require amputation.
"Early, aggressive intervention is key to preventing amputation," Dr. Davenport adds, "and having onsite access to HBOT supports our commitment to realizing this critical goal."
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy treatments generally last 90 minutes at optimal pressure, and are administered five days a week for six weeks. The treatments are painless and have no major side effects. In fact, patients are comfortable enough to sleep, talk to staff members, listen to music or watch television (both chambers come equipped with flat screen TVs).
Borgess delivers HBOT services in partnership with
Candescent Healing, a national leader in wound healing and hyperbaric therapy. Beyond wound healing--and despite false health claims like the ones that say it preserves one’s youth--HBOT has been legitimately used in the treatment of certain types of infection, air or gas embolism (blood clots), carbon-monoxide poisoning, decompression sickness (e.g., from diving injuries) and other conditions. Future research in trauma and stroke care also looks promising.
The Total Care Package
Combined with hyperbaric oxygen therapy, the Borgess Wound Healing and Hyperbaric Center offers a broad range of wound care and management services, from compression therapy to antibiotic applications to debridement (removal of damaged tissue or foreign objects from a wound). Regardless of the severity of the wound, patient education is an integral component of the total care package.
"Every wound has a story," Dr. Davenport says. "Is the patient wearing proper shoes? Is the patient eating right? Does the patient have other chronic conditions like diabetes or vascular disease? Determining the answers to these kinds of questions gives us a more complete picture of what may have exacerbated the wound. It also enables us to educate our patients about the lifestyle choices they’re making, and how those choices have an impact on their health."
To streamline care delivery across all relevant disciplines, the Borgess Wound Healing and Hyperbaric Center also collaborates with primary care physicians, inpatient providers, home-health professionals, and doctors in infectious disease, vascular medicine, radiology, reconstructive surgery and other specialties.
"Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is a single treatment within the total wound care regimen, not a stand-alone cure," Kaiser says. "Together with other doctors and caregivers, we work to promote the long-term healing of complicated, potentially tissue-compromising cases."
Nurses like Kaiser, a nurse practitioner with certification in chronic wound management, remain invaluable to the care continuum at Borgess. Kaiser has amassed more than two decades of training and experience related to wound care. Three inpatient nurses at Borgess Medical Center rotate into the Wound Healing and Hyperbaric Center to lend their expertise as well.
Dr. Davenport, board-certified in infectious disease, has spent much of his 25-year career trying to give patients suffering from non-healing wounds hope and greater quality of life.
"Not that long ago, 30 years ago maybe, wound care was a budding field," he says. "Today, it’s not just a specialized discipline. It’s a national focus. As we’re growing older, as more patients are having surgery, as more people are facing health challenges like diabetes and obesity, the demand for collaborative, cost-effective management of wounds is rising."
Amie Heasley is a freelance writer who resides in Portage.
Photos by Erik
Holladay.
Mary Beth Kaiser is the Program Director for the Wound Healing and Hyperbaric Center at Borgess.
David S. Davenport is Medical Director at Borgess Wound Healing and Hyperbaric Center.
Mary Beth Kaiser, Program Director, left, and David S. Davenport, Medical Director for the Wound Healing and Hyperbaric Center.