Mercy Hyperbaric and Wound Care - Fort Smith

As many as 5 million Americans suffer daily with a chronic, non-healing wound that prevents them from enjoying their favorite activities or even performing simple tasks.  Chronic wounds are more than a nuisance; they can lead to infection, tissue loss, or loss of an extremity.  Effective treatment is essential, and with modern therapeutic interventions, most patients experience successful healing and are able to return to work and leisure activities.

Mercy Wound Care offers:

Wound Treatment

Our team will carefully evaluate your wound and overall health status at the first appointment. Based on the information gathered, our team of physicians and nurses will work with your primary care physician to develop a customized treatment plan. This will typically include a series of appointments at the Mercy Wound Center, plus special dressings or bandages and detailed instructions on home care. Your progress will be carefully monitored with examinations and photographs and measurements. Adjustments to your treatment plan are made as needed to ensure optimal healing.

In addition, we will explain how to care for your wound at home, including:

• How to change bandages
• How to protect the wound from further injury
• How to use diet and exercise to speed recovery and prevent recurrence

Non-Healing Wounds:

Non-healing wounds can result from diabetes, immobilization, poor circulation, pressure or other conditions and healing may be compounded due to infection and anemia or use of steroids, smoking and obesity. Any wound that has not had significant improvement in two weeks wound be appropriate for a consultation at Mercy Wound Care Clinic. These may include the following:

Wounds with the following clinical signs should be addressed immediately, especially if the patient is a diabetic:

• Redness, warmth and pain
• Increased drainage or drainage with an odor
• Tenderness, swelling

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy

If you are a diabetic with a non-healing wound or a cancer patient who has undergone radiation therapy, you may benefit from Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT).  HBOT is a non-invasive medical treatment that delivers oxygen at much higher than normal atmospheric pressure, increasing the amount of oxygen being carried by the body to organs and tissues, thereby enhancing the body’s ability to heal itself.  Our Clinic features two hyperbaric chambers used for wound care, healing diabetic wounds, injured tissue from cancer radiation therapy, crush injuries from trauma and carbon monoxide positioning.

Lymphedema Therapy

Lymphedema occurs when the lymphatic system does not work properly and results in chronic swelling of one or more body parts. The goal of Lymphedema therapy is to reduce swelling and move the flow of lymphatic fluid into the venous circulation. Various treatments are used in Mercy Wound Centers for Lymphedema including compression, skin hygiene, Manual Lymph Drainage (MLD) and Complete Decongestive Therapy (CDT). While most cases of Lymphedema can be managed in the Mercy Wound Care Centers, if needed, advanced Lymphedema treatment can be arranged from any of the Mercy Wound Care Centers to Mercy Therapy Services for Lymphedema treatment.

Diabetes Wound Care

Our team of wound care and hyperbaric physicians, nurses and medical professionals who specialize in wound care/diabetic care, work closely with the existing healthcare provider to develop a customized treatment plan for diabetic wounds to ensure optimal healing.