Wound Care and Hyperbaric Center Opens at Wake Forest Baptist

January 12, 2011

Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center’s dedication to improving wound care not just in the region, but around the world has been internationally recognized.

Wake Forest Baptist has now opened a Wound Care and Hyperbaric Center. This state-of-the-art 3,800-square-foot facility offers comprehensive, interdisciplinary outpatient treatment using the most advanced wound care therapies, including hyperbaric oxygen (HBO).

"This new service will benefit many patients, from those with difficult to manage diabetes to those with cancer-related conditions," said Joseph A. Molnar, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and medical director of the Wound Care Center.

The Wound Care Center will house four hyperbaric chambers, six treatment rooms and a multidisciplinary team of physicians from orthopedics, vascular, plastics and reconstruction and infectious disease. The Wound Care Center is operated in partnership with Diversified Clinical Services.

HBO therapy is an adjunct treatment for some problematic, non-healing wounds. During treatment, the patient breathes 100 percent oxygen inside a pressurized chamber. By increasing the concentration of oxygen in the blood, the therapy can reduce swelling, fight infection, build new blood vessels and produce healthy tissue.

This type of treatment is often used for diabetic foot wounds, osteomyelitis, radiation injury, compromised skin grafts and flaps, crush injuries and other situations that would limit blood supply to tissues.

In addition, the Departments of Plastic Surgery and Wake Forest Institute of Regenerative Medicine continue to conduct ongoing research in wound care.   

Media Relations

Lisa Davanzo: news@wakehealth.edu, 336-713-4587

Main Number: news@wakehealth.edu, 336-713-4587