Wound Care

What is wound care?

Wound care treats slow-healing wounds, like arterial and venous ulcers, to prevent infection and encourage your body’s recovery process.

If you have a circulatory issue, such as peripheral artery disease or deep venous thrombosis, it affects your heart’s ability to pump oxygen and nutrient-rich blood to your extremities. This lack of blood flow affects healing and increases the risk of complications.

Wound care provides prompt treatment for open wounds to promote healing and reduce the risk of infection, gangrene (tissue death), and, in the worst cases, amputation.

What types of wounds need professional treatment?

The Texas Cardiac and Vascular Specialists team uses wound care to treat several types of open wounds, including:

• Venous wounds
• Leg wounds
• Diabetic wounds
• Arterial ulcers
• Lacerations (deep cuts in the skin)
• Puncture wounds (holes in the skin caused by sharp objects)
• Abrasions (wounds that occur when the skin rubs against a rough object)
• Avulsions (wounds that severely damage the skin and underlying tissue)

Each type of wound requires a different approach to promote healing and prevent infection.

What happens during a wound care appointment?

The Texas Cardiac and Vascular Specialists team tailors wound care to each patient’s needs.

Regardless, all wound care appointments begin with a comprehensive wound evaluation. Your provider examines your wound, assessing its location, size, and appearance.  They also measure how deep the wound goes and evaluate the type and amount of drainage it produces.

If your provider suspects the wound is infected, they also take X-rays to see how far it extends beneath your skin and collect a biopsy (tissue sample) for lab analysis. After gathering a complete picture of your wound, the team makes personalized treatment recommendations.

How are open wounds treated?

The Texas Cardiac and Vascular Specialists team treats open, slow-healing wounds using a conservative and integrative approach. They could suggest:

• Cleaning the wound to remove dirt and debris
• Debridement (removing dead or diseased tissue)
• Wrapping the wound in a sterile dressing or bandage
• Prescription antibiotics to eliminate infection
• Taking over-the-counter pain medication to reduce swelling and discomfort
• Skin glue, sutures, or stitches (for more severe wounds)
• Packing the wound with gauze
• Oxygen therapy

Most wounds improve with a combination of these treatments. However, if your wound is extremely deep and doesn’t begin healing, surgery might be necessary. That’s particularly true if you have an infection or the wound exposes underlying tissue, such as muscle, fat, or bone.

Call Texas Cardiac and Vascular Specialists to schedule a wound care appointment, or book your visit online today.