From left are: Cindy Beattie, RN, Clinical Nurse Manager; Valerie Gonzalez, Administrative Assistant; Rudy E. Vasquez, Director; Marissa Gonzalez, MD, Panel Physician; Jason Orr, Healogics Area Vice President; Chanda Fulgium, Healogics Senior Vice President; and Manuel J. Gonzalez, MD, Medical Director.
New Center Offers Advanced Care Close to Home
“We want to make sure that we provide our patients with the most effective treatments available.”
— Rudy E. Vasquez, Program Director
At a ribbon-cutting ceremony on January 31, Doctors Hospital of Laredo celebrated the opening of a brand new Wound Healing Center on the hospital campus near the Doctors Regional Cancer Treatment Center. Through a partnership with Healogics™, the nation’s leading wound care management company, the new Wound Healing Center has access to a vast network of resources and advanced healing technologies. This includes two hyperbaric oxygen therapy chambers, which are brand new to Doctors Hospital.
“Hyperbaric oxygen treatment has been shown to be very effective when partnered with other conventional healing methods,” says Medical Director and Vascular Surgeon Manuel Gonzalez, MD, who has been caring for patients in the community for many years. “It’s completely pain-free and is an everyday regimen. It’s not for everybody, but for certain patients it can speed up the healing process.”
The hyperbaric oxygen chambers at Doctors Hospital are constructed of completely see-through acrylic, explains Program Director Rudy E. Vasquez. Inside the chambers, patients inhale 100 percent oxygen, which promotes healing. “Patients lie down during the treatment and can watch a TV mounted to the outside of the chambers, if they’d like,” says Vasquez. They can bring a pillow or blanket into the chambers with them, and they’re monitored the entire time by a trained technician, Vasquez notes.
This therapy is administered along with other treatment methods to support wound healing, Vasquez explains. “It’s like a diet and exercise. Although either one is effective, if you have both together you experience faster results,” he says.
“There is a thorough process we go through,” Vasquez says of the treatment process. “This helps to ensure that proper treatments are administered to heal the wounds, even for persistent wounds.”
For many patients, conditions like cardiovascular disease and diabetes can contribute to chronic wounds. For example, patients with diabetes may develop a condition called neuropathy, which can cause numbness in the feet, Vasquez says. If this happens, patients may have a pebble or other small object in their shoe, which could cause a small wound that they don’t notice until it becomes a bigger problem.
Having enhanced access to advanced wound care will help many area residents, Vasquez believes. “We are very excited to be able to offer this service to our community and continue to provide the high level of care people expect at Doctors Hospital,” he says.
When should you see the doctor?
Any break in your skin is considered a wound. This could include cuts, splinters, blisters, incisions, punctures scrapes, pressure sores, ulcers and burns. If, after eight weeks, your wound hasn’t healed or has gotten worse, it needs help. Also, call your doctor right away if you have concerns related to a wound, including: increased pain; redness; bleeding; fever; signs of infection such as yellow or green pus; black edges around a wound, which can be a sign of dead tissue; and stitches or staples that have come out too soon.*
*National Institutes of Health
To schedule an appointment, or if you have questions about treatment for a persistent wound, please call 956-523-3480 or 956-523-3481.