Center for Wound Healing and Hyperbaric Medicine
The latest partnership between St. Luke’s and Idaho
Elks Rehabilitation Hospital is bringing cutting-edge medicine
to southwestern Idaho, with the new Center for Wound Healing
and Hyperbaric Medicine.
The new center serves two distinct groups of people: physicians and their patients. “The center offers physicians a place to refer patients when they can no longer provide the daily, routine care required when wounds don’t heal,” says Vic Moretto, the center’s director.
The center features diagnostic capabilities such as transcutaneous oximetry, a machine with six multi-channel sensors placed around the wound to evaluate oxygen flow. This helps physicians determine the most appropriate course of treatment. And the center is staffed by multidisciplinary teams comprised of physicians, physical therapists, and registered nurses who specialize in wound care, offering patients advanced possibilities for wound healing.
Science Fiction, or Pure Science?
It may seem like something out of a sci-fi movie, but the hyperbaric component of the new center is proven medicine for the treatment of a variety of conditions. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy involves enclosing the patient in a pressurized hyperbaric breathing chamber, where 100 percent pure oxygen is introduced (the environmental air we breathe is generally about 21 percent oxygen). Here’s how hyperbaric medicine works: Breathing 100 percent oxygen at two-to-three times the normal atmospheric pressure delivers 10 to 15 times as much oxygen to the tissues. This can increase oxygen flow to a wound, inducing formation of new capillaries that increase blood flow to the affected area, ultimately enhancing and speeding the healing process.
“Hyperbaric medicine is indicated for a variety of wound conditions,” says Moretto, “including but not limited to diabetic foot ulcers, skin grafts, crush injuries, radiation necrosis, and gas gangrene.” Hyperbaric chambers are also the treatment of choice for decompression sickness (most commonly seen in deep-sea divers), carbon monoxide poisoning, and smoke inhalation.
Hyperbaric therapy consists of daily, approximately two-hour sessions, for five to 25 days. Until the center opened in June, patients in the Boise area had to travel as far as Salt Lake City or Seattle, the nearest comprehensive centers. “We’re very excited about having this service in the Treasure Valley,” says Moretto. “Providing wound healing and hyperbaric medicine close to home is extremely beneficial to our patients and their families.”
The new Center for Wound Healing and Hyperbaric Medicine offers two clinics, one at Idaho Elks Rehabilitation Hospital in Boise and another at St. Luke’s Meridian Medical Center. Currently, the Boise clinic features four monoplace (one patient) hyperbaric chambers, complete with 360-degree vision, two-way communication, and remote-control televisions to help the time pass quickly and comfortably. This fall, the Meridian clinic will also have hyperbaric chambers available.
To learn more about the Center for Wound Healing and Hyperbaric Medicine, talk with your doctor, or call 489-5800.
