Wound Care
For most people, wound healing is a natural, uneventful process. For others, it can be a complex problem requiring specialized medical treatment. If you suffer from a hard-to-heal wound, we may be able to help.
For most people, wound healing is a natural, uneventful process. For others, it can be a complex problem requiring specialized medical treatment. If you suffer from a hard-to-heal wound, we may be able to help.
1500 S. Mill Avenue
Tempe, AZ 85281
480-784-5500
Our trained specialists follow a multidisciplinary approach to wound healing. After an initial evaluation, each patient receives a comprehensive, individualized plan designed to help heal these complicated wounds. We work to address the underlying cause of the problem, control infection, and improve the overall health of our patients.
For more information about wound care and hyperbaric medicine at the Arizona Wound Center at Tempe St. Luke’s Hospital, please call 877-333-5152.
At Tempe St. Luke’s Hospital, we offer hyperbaric oxygen therapy to help heal wounds. Over the course of several treatments, many patients achieve wound healing that is not otherwise possible using other methods.
Originally developed to help deep-sea divers overcome decompression sickness, also called “the bends,” hyperbaric oxygen therapy is used today to accelerate the healing of wounds that are slow to close on their own. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is also used to help fight certain types of infections and to treat conditions ranging from cyanide or carbon monoxide poisoning to radiation injuries.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is a specialized treatment that allows you to breathe pure oxygen inside a pressurized chamber. High concentrations of oxygen are delivered to the bloodstream, ranging from 10 to 20 times the normal amount. This pure oxygen can penetrate areas that oxygen-carrying red blood cells cannot reach. As a result, it helps revitalize tissues that receive poor blood flow and stimulates the growth of new blood vessels.
Increased oxygen also enables more infection-fighting white blood cells to reach affected areas. Most patients require treatment over the course of several weeks to effectively treat wounds.
The Treatment Experience
Hyperbaric therapy is painless, and most patients watch TV or sleep during their treatments. A Certified Hyperbaric Technologist (CHT) will monitor your treatment at all times and a physician will always be nearby. During treatment, once you are comfortably positioned inside the chamber, the technologist will slowly increase the air pressure. As the pressure increases initially and decreases at the end of the treatment, you may notice the same sensation you sometimes feel when changing altitude in an airplane. Your technologist will help you equalize the pressure between your ears, if necessary.