Helping People Heal:
The Wound Healing Center at Duke Raleigh Hospital

Actually, time doesn't heal all wounds.

Paper cuts and mosquito bites may be irritating for a day or two, but persistent wounds caused by diabetic foot ulcers, severe infections, serious burns and snake or spider bites can be debilitating for weeks or even months.

That's why patients in Wake County now have access to The Wound Healing Center, located on the second floor of Duke Raleigh Hospital. Our center includes a comprehensive, multidisciplinary service for chronic wound treatment including hyperbaric medicine with the resources of the only hyperbaric fellowship-trained physician in Wake County.

"The center and the adjunctive therapy of hyperbaric oxygen allows us to provide a comprehensive, multidisciplinary wound program that was previously unavailable to patients in Wake County.” --Dr. Scott Covington, Medical Director of The Wound Healing Center

"The Wound Healing Center at Duke Raleigh Hospital takes an aggressive approach to chronic wound care. The Center features a team of specialists who combine their knowledge and skill to raise the bar in chronic wound care in Wake County through a multi-disciplinary team approach and up to date treatment modalities." --Trish Howe, RN, program director of The Wound Healing Center

Who benefits from wound care?

The Wound Healing Center at Duke Raleigh Hospital helps individuals who have a wound that will not mend itself through the body’s natural healing process or will not heal significantly with the help of other treatment. These types of wounds include non-healing wounds, severe infections, diabetic foot ulcers, serious cuts or burns, or snake or spider bites.

Who provides wound care?

Wound care is provided by a team of professionals who are specially trained to care for people with wounds that have resisted healing. The team consists of physicians, nurses and therapists who use a unique combination of advanced treatments. This specialized approach to wound care has successfully helped thousands of patients whose wounds did not improve with other methods of treatment.

Once results of a thorough evaluation are available, the team of specialists develops a treatment plan to meet the patient’s individual needs. The patient’s progress is carefully followed so that changes can be made to the treatment plan if necessary. Valuable time also is spent educating the patient about proper home care to help ensure that healing progresses as quickly as possible.

What is hyperbaric medicine?

As part of his or her treatment program, a patient may require hyperbaric medicine, a relatively new, rapidly emerging treatment for wound care.

Wounds heal at a more rapid pace when the patient breathes 100 percent oxygen at higher pressures than that of the normal environment. Hyperbaric treatment, therefore, takes place in a specially designed compartment that helps deliver the prescribed amount of oxygen to the patient’s body tissue, at which time the healing process begins. This procedure also is beneficial for individuals who experience carbon monoxide poisoning, smoke inhalation, or decompression sickness.

Learn more about hyperbaric medicine and the Wound Healing Center at Duke Raleigh Hospital (1MB PDF) as seen in the January/February 2008 issue of Midtown Magazine.