Healing is as easy as breathing

Jan 29, 2019

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The physicians and clinicians at the William Newton Wound Healing & Hyperbaric Center in Winfield use leading edge therapies to reintroduce the body's innate ability to heal chronic wounds. One state-of-the-art therapy being used to save limbs from amputation updates the folk wisdom that fresh air cures anything.

William Newton Wound Healing & Hyperbaric Center’s Shelly Crader, APRN, NP-C, debunks the notion that to help a wound heal, one should “let it get some air.” While Crader recommends keeping minor wounds covered and moist, non-healing chronic wounds can benefit from patients breathing oxygenated air.

William Newton Hospital began offering hyperbaric oxygen therapy, or HBO, in late 2017 as a member of the Healogics network. This treatment increases the amount of oxygen to wounds allowing them to heal from the inside.

Patients receiving treatments watch television while relaxing on a bed encased in a large see-through plastic shell as they are surrounded by 100 percent oxygen at higher-than-normal atmospheric pressure.

Under hyperbaric conditions, oxygen molecules in the patient's red blood cells become reduced in size to more easily dissolve into the liquid portion of the blood and be transported throughout the body to speed healing.

During the non-invasive procedure, the only sensation patients experience is a slight pressure in the ears, as on an airplane, when the pressure changes.

HBO treatments are used for wounds that have not responded to traditional treatments. Treatments are typically covered by Medicare, Medicaid and most insurance plans. The center also welcomes self-referrals.

Chronic wounds affect more than eight million people in the U.S. and the incidence is rising fueled by an aging population and increasing rates of diseases and conditions such as diabetes, obesity, and the late effects of radiation therapy.

For more information, contact the William Newton Wound Healing & Hyperbarics Center at 620.222.6205.

Editor's Note: This article was submitted by William Newton Hospital for the Cowley CourierTraveler Regional Medical Guide published January 28, 2019.****