Wound Care

Wound Treatment Options

The plastic surgeons at The Centre, P.C. are experts in the treatment of a variety of wounds. Depending on the severity and structure of the wound, our plastic surgeons may perform microsurgery, skin grafting procedures, tissue expansion, flap surgeries, or direct closure. Our plastic surgeons will review your options with you after examining the wound and will formulate a treatment plan unique to your specific injury.

The physician will assess the amount of skin missing, whether nerves or muscles have been damaged, and if the skeletal support was affected. For skin-surface wounds with straight edges, direct closure if usually performed. The plastic surgeons at The Centre, P.C. take extra care to minimize noticeable stitch marks.

Skin Grafts
A skin graft is the transfer of skin from a healthy part of the body, the donor site, to cover an injured area of the body. Skin grafting is usually performed on burns and injuries that are wide and difficult or impossible to close directly.

Tissue Expansion
Tissue expansion is a procedure used to “grow” the skin. It is most commonly used for breast reconstruction, but is also used to repair skin damaged by burns, accidents, surgeries, birth defects, and in certain cosmetic procedures.

Flap Surgery/Microsurgery
A flap is a section of living tissue that carries its own blood supply and is moved from one area of the body to another. There are several different types of flaps: local flap (next to the wound), regional flap (attached by a specific blood vessel), musculocutaneous flap (comprising muscle and skin), bone/soft tissue flap (includes bone as well as tissue), and microvascular free flap (a section of skin and tissue that is completely detached from its original site).

Therapeutic Wound Care
Complex injuries may also require a course of wound care. Managing acute and chronic wounds requires a comprehensive and individualized treatment approach; this includes a thorough wound assessment, knowledge of the healing process and a well-defined protocol.

At The Centre for Working Hands our therapists have several years of experience treating simple, complex, and multilayered wounds. The therapists have a sound knowledge of wound biology and physiology of tissue repair. Their knowledge, experience, and wound management techniques facilitate the cellular process necessary for wound healing.

Along with the traditional therapies used for wound management such as; whirlpools, electrical modalities, sharp debridement, and a variety of wound dressings, our therapists have had excellent results using cold laser therapy.

Helping the Wound Healing Process
Many factors can influence and delay the wound healing process; this was one of the reasons The Centre for Working Hands implemented the “cold laser” therapy as part of our wound management protocol. Cold laser therapy is a physical treatment modality which uses SLD (Super luminous Diode and LLLT Low Level Laser Therapy) diodes to emit photons (light) in very specific regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. The combination of the SLD and LLLT provides the balanced distribution of light energy which encourages the body to heal itself by restoring homeostasis to the tissues.

Our expert therapists also use Evado™ Light therapy to reduce inflammation and promote circulation during the healing process. Evado™ is a low level light therapy that reduces the excitability of nervous tissue by stimulating the release of endorphins which act as the body’s long term pain medication. In addition, Evado™ stimulates collagen production within the body which is an essential protein used to repair and replace damaged tissue.

To learn more about how you can benefit from our Wound Treatment Options, call or email our expert therapists at The Centre for Working Hands to schedule your evaluation.