Wound Care Awareness
Wound Care Awareness and treatment at the Center for Wound Care & Hyperbaric Medicine at ECMC.
Featuring:
Learn more about Jeffrey Jordan, M.D., Ph.D.
Jeffrey Jordan, M.D., Ph.D.
Dr. Jeffrey Jordan is a surgeon at ECMC, specializing in gastrointestinal surgery, immunology, infectious disease, laparoscopic surgery, and trauma surgery. He also sees patients in our outpatient surgical clinic.Learn more about Jeffrey Jordan, M.D., Ph.D.
Transcription:
Intro: It's another edition of the Erie County Medical Center podcast series, True Care HealthCast.
Caitlin Whyte (Host): Most of us have suffered from a bad cut or maybe even had to get a few stitches, but for some, non-healing wounds can become a serious medical concern. Joining us today to talk about wound care and awareness is Dr. Jeffrey Jordan, a Surgeon, and the Director of the Center for Wound Care and Hyperbaric Medicine at ECMC. This is the True Care Health podcast, the official podcast from the Erie County Medical Center. I'm Caitlin Whyte. Now Dr. Jordan, to start us off, tell us a bit about the Center for Wound Care and Hyperbaric Medicine at ECMC.
Jeffrey Jordan, M.D., Ph.D. (Guest): Well, we've had a wound care center in our current status since about 2010, 2011 at Erie County Medical Center. I became a part of the wound care center in 2015. Then shortly thereafter, as the Medical Director there. We see all different types of chronic wounds. We see, probably I would guess we see about a hundred to 125 patients per week. Some of those are our patients that we see on a repeating basis due to the ongoing advanced treatment we provide. We also see approximately 10 to 40 new patients a week who have a new condition that needs an evaluation that, that gets sent to us from the community.
Host: Now what qualifies as a chronic wound? How does someone know when to seek out this advanced level of care?
Dr. Jordan: Well, I think, I mean, I think ultimately, a lot of us have gotten scrapes and cuts and such, most of us heal up quite quickly. It's when something is festering, if you will, that it becomes a problem. Some of the patients already know that they might be more prone to, to healing issues and, and others are not, but basically when a wound hasn't healed in what most consider an appropriate amount of time, I'd usually say a couple of weeks, especially if they're not seeing any, any improvement in the wound, I think they should generally start to seek out some, some care to see if there's some underlying issues that might be causing the wound not to heal.
Host: Now, are there any ailments or types of patients that are more prone to having non-healing wounds?
Dr. Jordan: Certainly, diabetics are well known to have healing issues due to problems controlling the blood sugar. But other patients are those with circulation problems that they might not be aware that they have. A lot of folks know when they have a heart condition, but they don't realize that some of the same factors that lead to heart problems can also lead to problems in the rest of their body that could impact wound healing. Also folks that have a lot of fluid on, on their lower extremities, varicose veins and the venous reflux, those also can impact healing quite significantly.
Host: Now why is timing so important when it comes to treatment?
Dr. Jordan: I think the most important thing is, is that a wound, once a wound occurs, the body does its best to try to start healing it. But over time, if the body's been trying to heal it, and yet isn't able to heal from certain factors, for lack of a better word, it just gets tired. So, I think that by being able to see, we do a lot of debridement and, and such in the wound care center. What that allows, is it cleans up the wound of any bacteria that might be sitting in there or any devitalized tissue, but it also kind of causes a micro wounding event. And what that does is kind of wake up the body to start the healing process over again. And then hopefully with the advanced therapies that we can utilize, we can start to get the wound healing.
Host: Now, unfortunately non-healing wounds can lead to amputation sometimes. When does that become necessary?
Dr. Jordan: The simple answer is sometimes is life over limb. We generally, we don't see these folks in that situation. What we're trying to do when we see them in the center is prevent amputation. So, we're preventing worsening of that wound. When that does become necessary as when an infection has progressed so much that the limb itself, generally it's, it's, it's most commonly a foot, most particularly in diabetics, but other people are affected. But when that tissue then, the limb itself isn't salvageable and keeping it there would be a constant threat to that patient's life. So, it's generally a, it's an infectious type of a situation, in most situations.
Host: The rate of amputation is actually all over increased during the pandemic. Why was that?
Dr. Jordan: It's probably, there's a lot of different reasons, but I think the most easy is due to the pandemic, folks were very concerned about going out for fear of most of these folks have, have their own multiple medical problems that they recognize put them at greater risk for COVID-19. As a result, those same medical conditions also made it a risk for these ulcers that can worsen and then not seeking that care, it kind of allowed these ulcers to get worse. And then also, many people started doing more Telemedicine interviews, and it's really hard to get a fair assessment of things with their primary care. And so I think our referrals went down as well. So, so we weren't seeing as many folks and unfortunately then what that leads to is worsening of the wounds to a point where they're not salvageable. And ultimately, again, it's kind of a life over limb situation that folks proceeded to emergency departments and required amputation.
Host: Now wrapping up here, how can people stay aware and on top of their wound care, so they don't progress to such a critical stage?
Dr. Jordan: Well, I think looking at them and often there's a stigma associated with folks that have had to deal with chronic wounds a lot. And so I think unfortunately, even their loved ones won't know always how bad it might be. So, being aware and taking a little bit of that stigma off and putting constant attention on them, also just taking care of whatever comorbidities, what other health conditions might be related to the worsening of the wound and staying on top of those. And then I think lastly, seeking out that care and those evaluations by physicians to be able to take care of those wounds.
Host: Well, thank you so much, Dr. Jordan for sharing this important information and taking the time to join us today. If you or someone you love has a chronic non-healing wound, seek medical treatment by calling the Center for Advanced Wound Care and Hyperbaric Medicine at Erie County Medical Center at (716) 898-4800, that's (716) 898-4800.
You can also find more information online at ecmc.edu. And if you enjoyed this episode, please share it with your friends and family. This is the True Care Health podcast, the official podcast from the Erie County Medical Center. I'm Caitlin Whyte. We'll see you next time.
Intro: It's another edition of the Erie County Medical Center podcast series, True Care HealthCast.
Caitlin Whyte (Host): Most of us have suffered from a bad cut or maybe even had to get a few stitches, but for some, non-healing wounds can become a serious medical concern. Joining us today to talk about wound care and awareness is Dr. Jeffrey Jordan, a Surgeon, and the Director of the Center for Wound Care and Hyperbaric Medicine at ECMC. This is the True Care Health podcast, the official podcast from the Erie County Medical Center. I'm Caitlin Whyte. Now Dr. Jordan, to start us off, tell us a bit about the Center for Wound Care and Hyperbaric Medicine at ECMC.
Jeffrey Jordan, M.D., Ph.D. (Guest): Well, we've had a wound care center in our current status since about 2010, 2011 at Erie County Medical Center. I became a part of the wound care center in 2015. Then shortly thereafter, as the Medical Director there. We see all different types of chronic wounds. We see, probably I would guess we see about a hundred to 125 patients per week. Some of those are our patients that we see on a repeating basis due to the ongoing advanced treatment we provide. We also see approximately 10 to 40 new patients a week who have a new condition that needs an evaluation that, that gets sent to us from the community.
Host: Now what qualifies as a chronic wound? How does someone know when to seek out this advanced level of care?
Dr. Jordan: Well, I think, I mean, I think ultimately, a lot of us have gotten scrapes and cuts and such, most of us heal up quite quickly. It's when something is festering, if you will, that it becomes a problem. Some of the patients already know that they might be more prone to, to healing issues and, and others are not, but basically when a wound hasn't healed in what most consider an appropriate amount of time, I'd usually say a couple of weeks, especially if they're not seeing any, any improvement in the wound, I think they should generally start to seek out some, some care to see if there's some underlying issues that might be causing the wound not to heal.
Host: Now, are there any ailments or types of patients that are more prone to having non-healing wounds?
Dr. Jordan: Certainly, diabetics are well known to have healing issues due to problems controlling the blood sugar. But other patients are those with circulation problems that they might not be aware that they have. A lot of folks know when they have a heart condition, but they don't realize that some of the same factors that lead to heart problems can also lead to problems in the rest of their body that could impact wound healing. Also folks that have a lot of fluid on, on their lower extremities, varicose veins and the venous reflux, those also can impact healing quite significantly.
Host: Now why is timing so important when it comes to treatment?
Dr. Jordan: I think the most important thing is, is that a wound, once a wound occurs, the body does its best to try to start healing it. But over time, if the body's been trying to heal it, and yet isn't able to heal from certain factors, for lack of a better word, it just gets tired. So, I think that by being able to see, we do a lot of debridement and, and such in the wound care center. What that allows, is it cleans up the wound of any bacteria that might be sitting in there or any devitalized tissue, but it also kind of causes a micro wounding event. And what that does is kind of wake up the body to start the healing process over again. And then hopefully with the advanced therapies that we can utilize, we can start to get the wound healing.
Host: Now, unfortunately non-healing wounds can lead to amputation sometimes. When does that become necessary?
Dr. Jordan: The simple answer is sometimes is life over limb. We generally, we don't see these folks in that situation. What we're trying to do when we see them in the center is prevent amputation. So, we're preventing worsening of that wound. When that does become necessary as when an infection has progressed so much that the limb itself, generally it's, it's, it's most commonly a foot, most particularly in diabetics, but other people are affected. But when that tissue then, the limb itself isn't salvageable and keeping it there would be a constant threat to that patient's life. So, it's generally a, it's an infectious type of a situation, in most situations.
Host: The rate of amputation is actually all over increased during the pandemic. Why was that?
Dr. Jordan: It's probably, there's a lot of different reasons, but I think the most easy is due to the pandemic, folks were very concerned about going out for fear of most of these folks have, have their own multiple medical problems that they recognize put them at greater risk for COVID-19. As a result, those same medical conditions also made it a risk for these ulcers that can worsen and then not seeking that care, it kind of allowed these ulcers to get worse. And then also, many people started doing more Telemedicine interviews, and it's really hard to get a fair assessment of things with their primary care. And so I think our referrals went down as well. So, so we weren't seeing as many folks and unfortunately then what that leads to is worsening of the wounds to a point where they're not salvageable. And ultimately, again, it's kind of a life over limb situation that folks proceeded to emergency departments and required amputation.
Host: Now wrapping up here, how can people stay aware and on top of their wound care, so they don't progress to such a critical stage?
Dr. Jordan: Well, I think looking at them and often there's a stigma associated with folks that have had to deal with chronic wounds a lot. And so I think unfortunately, even their loved ones won't know always how bad it might be. So, being aware and taking a little bit of that stigma off and putting constant attention on them, also just taking care of whatever comorbidities, what other health conditions might be related to the worsening of the wound and staying on top of those. And then I think lastly, seeking out that care and those evaluations by physicians to be able to take care of those wounds.
Host: Well, thank you so much, Dr. Jordan for sharing this important information and taking the time to join us today. If you or someone you love has a chronic non-healing wound, seek medical treatment by calling the Center for Advanced Wound Care and Hyperbaric Medicine at Erie County Medical Center at (716) 898-4800, that's (716) 898-4800.
You can also find more information online at ecmc.edu. And if you enjoyed this episode, please share it with your friends and family. This is the True Care Health podcast, the official podcast from the Erie County Medical Center. I'm Caitlin Whyte. We'll see you next time.