Wound Care

OSF Wound Care is a multi-disciplinary program driven by physicians from the surgery, family practice and podiatry specialties, among others.

This approach provides our patients with a broad spectrum of medical expertise.

Our entire medical staff are certified to perform extensive wound care and hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

Conditions we treat

Some of the conditions we treat include:

Diabetic foot ulcers
Lower leg ulcers (venous and arterial ulcers)
Pressure ulcers
Abscesses
Bone infections (osteomyelitis)
Pilonidal cyst-related wounds
Gangrene
Traumatic wounds, skin tears and lacerations

Osteoradionecrosis
Soft tissue radiation necrosis
Radiation cystitis
Post-operative infected wounds
Slow or non-healing surgical wounds
Failing or compromised skin/muscle grafts or flaps
Atypical wounds over 30-days-old failing multiple treatments

Treatment options

Wound care specialists at OSF Wound Care work with you to develop an individualized treatment plan.

Treatment options may include:

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy
Bio-engineered skin substitutes
Debridements
Compression therapy
Advanced wound dressings

Negative pressure wound therapy
Nutritional education
Patient and caregiver education
Home care coordination

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy

An advanced treatment option available at OSF Wound Care may include hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT), in which the patient is sealed in a pressure chamber breathing 100 percent pure oxygen, almost five times more than in air. The pressure of the oxygen breathed by the patient in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber is usually more than 1.5 times (and can be as much as 3 times) greater than atmospheric pressure. The therapy can deliver nearly 15 times as much oxygen as there is in air at normal pressure. The goal is to fill the blood with enough oxygen to repair tissues and restore normal body function.

Use of the chambers usually involves 90-minute treatments, five days per week for 4-6 weeks.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy helps wound healing by bringing oxygen-rich plasma to tissue starved for oxygen. HBOT reduces swelling while flooding the tissues with oxygen. The elevated pressure in the chamber increases the amount of oxygen in the blood. HBOT aims to break the cycle of swelling, oxygen starvation, and tissue death.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy should not be used by people who have had recent ear surgery or ear trauma, a cold or fever, or certain types of lung disease.

Appointment information

All OSF Wound Care patients receive an initial screening. Written consent will be obtained to take pictures of the wound(s) and for debridement, biopsy, incision and drainage, laceration management, or other procedure if indicated.

The patient’s history will be obtained and the wounds will be measured, cleansed, and assessed by the nurse.