Wound Care & Hyperbaric Medicine

Slow-healing wounds are often concerning and can require special care. The Frederick Health Medical Group Wound Care & Hyperbaric Medicine team is compromised of specialized nurses, therapists, and physicians who work with our dedicated support staff to provide expert care, education, evaluation, and support services.

Together, we will:

• complete a full medical evaluation to identify what is causing the wound & why it isn’t healing.
• teach you and your family or caregivers how to care for the wound & prevent recurrence.
• coordinate all diagnostic testing, specialty wound care treatments, home health needs, referrals & any other needs to help you heal.

Pain Management

Many wounds can be painful, and the pain can come from different causes. Uncontrolled swelling, poor blood supply, infection, or just exposure to the air can all cause the wound to become more painful. If the wound is painful, the physician will do a careful examination of your wound and review your recent medical history to identify the cause of the pain. If pain medications are needed, the treating physician may prescribe pain medications on a very limited basis. This is primarily because pain medications can have significant side effects with your other medical conditions. If chronic pain control is needed, we will refer you back to your primary care physician or a pain management specialist to address your pain control needs.

Wound Care Supplies

During each appointment, the team will work with you to determine the best type of wound dressings (specialty bandages) needed to help healing. Each insurance company has different coverage benefits and requirements for the dressings so please make sure to check your policy to see if there is appropriate coverage. The specialty dressings are a covered benefit for Medicare patients.

If you have any questions regarding your wound care, call us at 240-566-3840.

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Services

One of the services we provide is called hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO). This advanced medical treatment for wound care involves breathing in 100% oxygen in a pressurized area. In many cases, slow healing can be at least partially attributed to lack of oxygen. A wound may be impacted by infection, inflammation, or poor circulation. HBO therapy provides the oxygen these tissues so desperately need in order to heal. This treatment stimulates the worker cells and accelerates the healing process by helping stave off infection, stimulate connective tissue and blood cell growth, and cut back inflammation.

Patients who are suffering from wounds that are not healing or who have undergone radiation therapy may benefit from hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Many different types of wounds can be treated using this advanced process, including diabetic foot ulcers, chronic bone infections, failing surgical flaps / skin grafts, injuries caused by soft tissue radiation, necrotizing soft tissue infections, and more.

What is Hyperbaric Oxygen therapy?

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO) is a form of medical treatment where patients breathe in 100% oxygen, while being in a pressurized environment. Many hard-to-heal wounds have a very poor oxygen supply, because of poor circulation, infection or chronic inflammation. Hyperbaric oxygen floods the oxygen starved tissues with high concentrations of healing oxygen, which “turns on” on the worker cells required to heal the wound. Hyperbaric oxygen helps to fight infection, grow connective tissue and blood vessels, and reduce inflammation. All of this translates to accelerated wound healing.

Specialties

• Diabetic foot ulcers
• Surgical wounds
• Pressure ulcers
• Wounds from unknown causes
• Traumatic wounds and mild to moderate burns
• Ostomy/urostomy/ileostomy care
• Circulation wounds (lymphedema, vein disease, peripheral arterial disease)

How do I tell if I need hyperbaric oxygen?

If you have a history of a nonhealing wound, or a history of radiation therapy in the past with the onset of unusual physical symptoms currently, talk with your doctor about a referral to Wound Care and Hyperbaric Medicine. Our physicians can evaluate you for hyperbaric oxygen therapy to see if you are a candidate.

What conditions does Hyperbaric Oxygen therapy treat?

Some of conditions that are treated with hyperbaric oxygen include:

• Diabetic Foot ulcers
• Chronic Bone Infections (Osteomyelitis)
• Failing surgical flaps and skin grafts
• Radiation injury to the jaw
• Hard to heal wounds caused by certain medical conditions
• Necrotizing or Severe soft tissue infections
• Soft Tissue Radiation Injury (bleeding in the bowel or bladder, as a side effect of radiation therapy)