Des Peres Hospital Opens Outpatient Wound Care Center

Des Peres Hospital opened a new outpatient wound care center Monday that treats patients with chronic or non-healing wounds associated with, among other things, diabetes, pressure ulcers, trauma, peripheral vascular disease, poor circulation, immobility and other conditions.

Chronic wounds are those wounds that have not shown significant improvement with conventional treatment within 30 days or complete healing in eight weeks.

The Wound Care Center by Des Peres Hospital is staffed with a specially-trained wound care physician and nurses who take a personalized approach using some of the most advanced wound care technologies available. The team works in partnership with the patient’s existing medical team to monitor progress during the course of treatment.

The center’s interdisciplinary care includes infectious-disease management, physical therapy, occupational therapy, laboratory evaluation, nutritional management, pain management, diabetic education, radiology testing and wound debridement (removal of dead tissue) to address the patient’s total health.

In addition, the center offers two chambers for hyperbaric oxygen therapy to reduce swelling, fight infection and build new blood vessels, ultimately producing healthy tissue.

If a hard-to-heal wound is not treated, it may get bigger and deeper over time.  This may significantly increase the patient’s chances of infection, which if severe enough, may require hospitalization. If the tissue damage from infection is extensive, the patient may need surgery or amputation.

The Wound Care Center by Des Peres Hospital is located at 1032 Old Des Peres Road. It is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. The telephone number is 314-965-1346. For more information, visit www.stlwoundcare.com.