Wound Healing Perspectives

Wound Healing Perspectives is how we tell the healthcare professionals near our centers about the latest techniques and solutions used to heal their patients. Our goal is to get involved early in the treatment process to speed each patient's healing. Wound Healing Perspectives is published quarterly and each issue focuses on a specific type of wound. Past issues have discussed wounds of the lower extremities, venous leg ulcers, and radiation injuries.

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Current Wound Healing Perspectives

Diabetes and Nutrition (Volume 8, No. 3, 2011) [PDF Format]
Good nutrition leads to good health. This applies to everyone but is especially true for diabetic and pre-diabetic patients. It's often difficult for patients to know what they should and should not eat to achieve optimum nutrition. This issue of Wound Healing Perspectives provides a synopsis of the most recent information available on diabetic nutrition, including current research, diagnostic tools, malnutrition screening tools, and diabetes complications.

Wound Healing Perspectives Past Issues

Osteomyelitis(Volume 8, No. 2, 2011) [PDF Format]
This issue of Wound Healing Perspectives examines the pathophysiology and treatment of osteomyelitis. Included is an overview of the commonly used Cierny-Mader staging system, as well as rationale for multimodal therapy in the management of refractory bone infections.

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (Volume 8, No. 1, 2011) [PDF Format]
This issue of Wound Healing Perspectives reviews the recent literature about hyperbaric oxygen therapy and stem cells in patients with diabetic foot ulcers as well as providing information about a new indication for HBO:central retinal artery occlusion.

Dermatopathology and Molecular Mapping (Volume 7, No. 4, 2010) [PDF Format]
Recognizing the underlying etiology of a non-healing wound is the first step toward healing. Most wounds have a clear cause - arterial insufficiency, radiation damage, venous disease, diabetes, etc. - but sometimes a patient presents with a wound that doesn't fit into any of these categories. In these cases a biopsy analyzed by a dermatopathology lab can be the best source of information about the wound. This issue of Wound Healing Perspectives explores Dermatopathology, Molecular Mapping and how biopsies are the roadmap to healing.

Soft Tissue Radionecrosis (Volume 7, No. 3, 2010) [PDF Format]
Patients with soft tissue radiation injuries frequently face serious complications such as intractable pain, nutritional deficiencies, pathologic fractures, and oral and cutaneous fistulas. The wounds that occur in the irradiated tissue constitute one of the clearest indications for hyperbaric oxygen treatment to prevent and manage problem wounds. This issue of Wound Healing Perspectives features articles on soft tissue radiation injuries, hyperbaric oxygen chambers, treating radiation procitis, treating soft tissue radiation injuries of the head and neck, treating post-radiation wounds, questions and answers on HBO, and indication for HBO.

Endovascular Procedures (Volume 7, No.1, 2010) [PDF Format]
In this issue of Wound Healing Perspectives, we address endovascular options in the management of non-healing arterial and venus ulcers. Topics include current trends, endovascular advances, surgical bypass for arterial ulcers, endovenous surgery, angiogenic gene therapy, the cost of amputation, and how to work with a wound healing center.

Diabetic Foot Ulcers (Volume 6, No. 4, 2009) [PDF Format]
This issue of Wound Healing Perspectives delves into Diabetic Foot Ulcers and addresses the following topics: Common factors of diabetic foot ulcers, total contact casting vs. using a walking boot, ulceration and amputation risk factors in diabetic patients, peripheral neuropathy verbal questionnaire, assessing and preventing lower-extremity neuropathic ulcers, vascular assement for diabetic foot ulcers, treating diabetic foot ulcers, and working with a wound healing center.

Peripheral Arterial Disease, Part II (Volume 6, No.3, 2009) [PDF Format]
This issue of Wound Healing Perspectives is the final part of a two-part series about PAD. Topics included are interventions such as bypass surgery and endovascular procedures, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, and medical treatments such as progenitor cells and prostaglandin E1 for critical limb ischemia, Cilostazol for intermittent claudication, and clopidogrel and aspirin to prevent blood clots.

Peripheral Arterial Disease, Part I (Volume 6, No.2, 2009) [PDF Format]
This issue focuses on the diagnosis and treatment of Peripheral Arterial Disease(PAD). Topics include an overview of PAD, collateral circulation, transcutaneous oxygen monitors in wound healing, intermittent claudication and rest pain, measuring blood flow, detecting and treating PAD in primary care, determining the right test for the right patient, cholesterol and PAD, mitigating PAD risk factors, and working with your local wound healing center.

Pressure Ulcers (Volume 6, No. 1, 2009) [PDF Format]
This issue focuses on Pressure Ulcers. Topics addressed are staging pressure ulcers, factors contributing to pressure ulcers, risk factors of pressure ulcers, preventing pressure ulcers, reducing pressure ulcers in hospitals, risk assessment, AHRQ positioning guidelines, offloading options, pressure ulcers on the heels, appearance of heel pressure ulcers, and how Wound Healing Centers help patients with pressure ulcers.

Lower Extremity Assessment (Volume 5, No. 4, Fall 2008) [PDF Format]
This issue focuses on the evaluation of lower-extremity ulceration. Topics addressed are diagnosing lower-extremity neuropathic ulcers, venous ulcers, and arterial ulcers, total contact cast vs. walking boot, hyperbaric oxygen therapy and lower extremity wounds, grading scale for the severity of edema, classifying chronic lower-extremity venous disease, compression alternatives for non-ambulatory patients, ABI interpretations, and categories of ischemic pain.

"Dr. Why is My Leg Swollen?" (Volume 5, No. 3, Summer 2008) [PDF Format]
This issue addresses the multiple etiologies of edema-venous, metabolic, cardiac, renal, mechanical, trauma, drugs, and lipedema. Topics in this issue cover causes of peripheral edema, guidelines for diagnosing and treating venous ulcers, risk factors for peripheral edema, peripheral edema and hemodynamic alterations, patient education, an overview of lymphedema, and treating proteinura.

Advanced Therapies Part III (Volume 5, No 1 Winter 2008) [PDF Format]
This issue provides an overview on advanced therapies to treat chronic wounds and includes articles on growth factors, what makes a chronic wound, advanced therapy options, matrix metalloproteinases and their inhibitors, a combination anti-inflammatory matrix, odor side effect, skin substitutes, grafjacket, negative pressure wound therapy, a cost-benefit analysis of Apligraf, and how to work with a wound center.

Wound Healing Basics (Fall 2007) [PDF Format]
This issue provides insight into modern wound dressings. It reviews the history of wound dressings and the various categories of anti-infectives and wound dressings available, along with their properties.

Type II Diabetes and Wound Healing (Spring 2007) [PDF Format]
This issue provides an overview of the factors associated with the development of type 2 diabetes, including nutrition and diet, dietary modifications, the Glycemic Index, fiber and glucose control, and much more.

Malignant Wounds (Winter 2007) [PDF Format]
This issue addresses subjects around the topic of malignancy, including minimizing patient pain, fungating wounds, cutaneous metastic breast cancer, malignant melanoma, squamous cell cancer, Marjolin's Ulcers, and cutaneous T-Cell Lymphoma.

Critical Limb Ischemia (Spring 2006) [PDF Format]
An overview of critical limb ischemia including treatment options, general patient advice, and new procedures in pain treatment. Diagnosing peripheral arterial disease and amputation prevention strategies are also reviewed.