Wound Care

Open sores like diabetic, venous, and arterial ulcers require specialized treatment. Fellowship-trained wound care expert Syed-Ghazanfar Naqvi, MD, at Advanced Medicine Clinics in McKinney, Texas, offers comprehensive therapy for patients with ulcers. Dr. Naqvi can clean, debride, and dress your wounds and apply compression therapy to improve your circulation. Call Advanced Medicine Clinics to request a wound care consultation or schedule an appointment with Dr. Naqvi using the online booking form.

What is wound care?

Wound care is a specialized approach to treating open wounds like leg ulcers and pressure sores. These wounds are challenging to treat because they don’t heal easily and often affect the deeper tissue layers.

Wounds can be painful and usually reduce mobility. They’re also vulnerable to bacterial infections, which can spread into the bone and other tissues. An infected ulcer may become gangrenous, where healthy tissue dies and the infection spreads up the leg. Severe gangrene could lead to limb amputation to prevent the infection from reaching your organs.

What conditions require wound care?

Wound care is the most effective treatment for all nonhealing wounds, including:

Venous stasis ulcers

Venous stasis ulcers can develop if your circulation is so poor that fluid builds up and the tissues break down. Chronic venous insufficiency is the primary cause. This condition, which also causes varicose veins, occurs when tiny valves in your veins weaken, preventing blood from pumping up your legs to your heart properly.

Diabetic ulcers

Diabetes causes nerve damage (diabetic peripheral neuropathy) and weakens blood vessels. Neuropathy can cause numbness that prevents you from noticing broken skin. Infection can set in, and the tissues fail to heal because of poor blood flow, resulting in a diabetic ulcer.

Arterial (ischemic) ulcers

Arterial ulcers occur when you have poor circulation in your arteries. Peripheral arterial disease (PAD), where cholesterol makes the arteries narrower, is the leading cause of arterial ulcers.

Pressure sores

Pressure sores (decubitus ulcers) develop when your body weight compresses tissues and blood vessels, commonly due to being bedbound.

What does wound care involve?

Wound care begins with debridement, where Dr. Naqvi removes all the dead and infected tissue. He cleanses the wound thoroughly to eliminate bacteria, then dresses the wound.

Wound dressings use special materials that keep the wound dry, prevent infection, and encourage healing. They need checking and changing regularly to ensure the wound is responding and not worsening.

Another vital aspect of wound care is multi-layer compression therapy. Dr. Naqvi carefully applies bandages or wraps that put even pressure on the leg, improving your circulation. Restoring proper blood flow is essential so the damaged tissues receive the oxygen, healing cells, and nutrients they require for repair.

If necessary, Dr. Naqvi can refer you for advanced wound care treatments like amnion membrane allografts, native collagen, or epidermal grafting.

Call Advanced Medicine Clinics today or book an appointment online for expert wound care.