NCH Wound Healing and Hyperbaric Center

Your Answer to Wound Healing

If you have a wound that has not healed, consider seeking help from the NCH Healthcare System’s Wound Healing Center. The methods employed by the center have established an impressive record of healing wounds that others thought hopeless, including many that might have required amputation. Carefully researched methods allow patients to receive state-of-the-art treatment of wounds that have resisted healing despite months, or even years of conventional treatment.

About five million Americans suffer from chronic wounds that won’t heal. Often, these wounds won’t heal due to a variety of factors such as age, diet, circulatory problems, diabetes, arthritis, kidney disease, and smoking. These wounds can become infected, requiring amputation in extreme cases, if not treated in a timely and effective manner. The Wound Healing Center at the NCH Healthcare System offers a comprehensive program that includes state-of-the-art treatment for non-healing wounds.

We can help with wounds such as:

  • Any wound which has failed to show signs of healing for more than 30 days
  • Any wound which has not responded to previous treatments or therapies
  • Post-operative infections
  • Slow or non-healing surgical wounds
  • Diabetic foot ulcers
  • Lower leg ulcers
  • Pressure ulcer
  • Chronic bone infection (osteomyelitis)
  • Gangrene
  • Crush injuries, Compartment Syndrome and other traumatic ischemias
  • Skin tears or lacerations
  • Radiation and other burns
  • Failing or compromised skin/muscle grafts or flaps
  • Insect or dog bites
  • Necrotizing soft tissue infections
  • Lymphedema

The NCH Wound Healing Center offers a variety of specialized treatments, including:

  • Doppler Evaluation of Pulses: Determines blood flow available to transport nutrients and medications to the wound.
  • Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBO2T): In this treatment, the patient breathes 100% oxygen at increased atmospheric pressures. This increases the oxygen levels in body tissues for the promotion of healing and the fighting of infection.
  • Wound Debridement: An outpatient procedure that enhances the growth of healthy tissue around the wound. Wound Dressings: Each wound care product is chosen based on the needs of the patient. The proper dressing promotes the correct environment the body requires to heal.

What is Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy?

Breathing 100% oxygen at increased atmospheric pressure is a painless, proven way to help the body heal. Hyperbaric oxygen chambers work by surrounding the patient with 100% oxygen at higher than normal atmospheric pressure in sessions that last 90 minutes to two hours. This increases the amount of oxygen in the patient’s blood allowing red blood cells to pass more easily through the plasma into the wounds to heal them from the inside out.

What to Bring to Your First Appointment:

  • A list of any medications you are currently taking as well as any known allergies
  • Medical records including x-rays if you have them
  • Insurance forms or cards

Locations, Hours & Phone:

How to Start Healing:

  1. Generally, the physician presently treating your wound will refer you to our center, or you can make your appointment directly.
  2. When you call for your first appointment, we will ask you a few questions about your wound and health in general. Before beginning treatment, our team of doctors, nurses, and therapists will thoroughly evaluate your wound and review your health and medical history.
  3. Tests might be conducted to tell us more about your blood flow and tissue oxygenation as well as to determine if there is any infection present.
  4. Together with your physician, we will develop a treatment program based on our assessment of your special needs. Your program will likely involve regular visits to the center. Your progress is meticulously documented and adjusted as necessary.
  5. We are in constant communication with your doctor throughout your care. Once your wound is healed, you will return to your doctor for follow-up care. And of course, you will continue with your personal doctor for any related ailments like diabetes and hypertension.