Wound Healing

UT Southwestern Medical Center is committed to defining reconstructive procedures that restore the body and face to normal and cosmetic treatments that improve the normal. Our wound care program is an exceptional intersection between the two disciplines.

We understand that severe wounds can have a profound impact on your life and can affect physical movement, lifestyle, emotional well-being, and overall health.

Our goal is to provide effective solutions for all types of serious and complicated wounds.

Common wounds include:

Burns
Crash injuries
Diabetic ulcers
Gangrene or tissue death, called necrosis
Pressure ulcers or bedsores

Radiation wounds
Skin tears
Surgical incisions
Traumatic injuries
Venous ulcers

Evaluations

At UT Southwestern, we use a multidisciplinary team approach to help treat your wounds. If a leg, foot, toe, arm, and/or finger is involved, we apply the latest alternatives to preserve the affected limb.

Our team includes podiatrists, plastic surgeons and other physicians, nurses, physical therapists, dietitians, pain management experts, and other medical specialists. We work together to develop an individualized treatment plan based on your specific health and lifestyle needs to treat all of you, not just your wounds.

Treatments

Your UT Southwestern health care professional may recommend several options for treating a wound.

Some of the treatment therapies include:

Surgery: Including tissue transfer, skin grafts, and microsurgery
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy: Patients are immersed in 100 percent oxygen at an atmospheric pressure that is higher than normal. This increases the amount of oxygen in the blood and promotes quicker healing.
Bioengineered skin substitutes: Using cell-based tissue to protect the wound and increase healing
Specialized wound-specific dressings: Made of gels, collagen, foam, or various other substances used to help promote wound healing. This treatment method is often used with hyperbaric oxygen therapy and nutrition counseling.
Dietary and nutrition consultations: Studies show that wound healing takes longer in people who have a diet lacking in essential nutrients

After a wound heals, plastic surgery can be performed to reduce scarring and help restore function. This may involve some of the newer flap techniques.

Leading-Edge Wound Care Research

In addition to our treatment therapies, UT Southwestern’s researchers are engaged in studies to learn more about caring for wounds. The latest advancements in research can be applied so your wounds heal and don’t recur.

Contact UT Southwestern Plastic Surgery for help if a wound:

Has not healed or is healing very slowly
Continues to bleed, seep, or drain
Is infected, or the area around it is red, warm, swollen, or painful