Advanced Wound Healing Services
The Vascular Vein and Wound Centre provides comprehensive wound healing management by Dr Tan Yih Kai, accredited by the American Board of Wound Management (ABWM). Your wound will be evaluated, and a treatment plan will be developed to customise it to individual needs. Dr. Tan will carry out a wound evaluation that also includes systemic and local factors that may contribute to delayed wound healing. These may include pressure, trauma, poor blood supply, swelling, infection, and poor nutrition.
The types of wounds that we manage in the Centre:
- Diabetic Ulcers
- Ischemic/Arterial Ulcers
- Venous Ulcers
- Pressure Ulcers
- Non-healing Surgical wounds
- Infected Wounds
- Traumatic wounds
- Gangrene
The principles for successful wound healing include:
- Treating and preventing infection
- Offloading by taking pressure off the wound
- Debridement by removing dead skin and tissue in the wound bed
- Applying appropriate dressings, including medicated dressings, to treat and prevent infection
- Restoring adequate blood flow to the wound
- Managing blood sugar in patients with diabetes
The Vascular Vein and Wound Centre uses a wide range of advanced wound dressings and wound healing devices. These include silver-based dressings, collagen-based dressings, and Negative Pressure Wound Therapy (NPWT). Wounds require different dressings at different stages of healing.
Advanced wound dressings are designed to treat complex wounds. They have the ability to:
- Maintain the wound in a moist environment, which is optimal for healing
- Protect peri-wound skin
- Promote the growth of new tissue
- Treat infected wounds and maintain a clean wound bed for healing
Advantages of using advanced wound dressings:
- Faster healing time
- Decreased frequency of dressing change
- Decreased labour costs
- Reduced risk of wound infection
NPWT is a wound management device that uses gentle suction via a wound dressing and a small electrical pump to help wounds heal faster.
NPWT helps wounds heal by:
- Maintaining a moist wound environment
- Removing excess fluid and infectious material
- Reducing swelling
- Promoting blood supply to the wound
- Promoting healthy tissue growth
Split-thickness skin grafting is sometimes carried out to cover wounds with large defects. It is a surgical procedure that involves removing the top layer of skin from one area of the body and moving it to cover the wound defect. Skin grafting has been shown to increase the healing rate of diabetic foot wounds and reduce the risk of leg amputation.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) involves breathing 100% oxygen at an ambient pressure greater than 1 atmosphere absolute. It has been recommended as a useful adjunct for patients with wounds that fail to respond to standard wound care. HBOT has been shown to be effective in improving wound healing and against infection, especially in diabetic foot wounds and ulcers.
