Wound Care
Boost your body’s ability to heal with advanced wound care treatment and technology
When it comes to non-healing wounds, the IU Health Wound Care team provides specialized techniques and treatments designed to help you achieve your goals and get you back to your daily routine.
IU Health Wound Care is dedicated to treating complicated and non-healing wounds. We use the most current, advanced wound dressings and leading-edge wound-care technologies to provide the best possible outcome.
We offer comprehensive care and management to help wounds heal faster and prevent them from recurring.
Non-healing wounds can be caused by:
- Deep underlying infection
- Diabetes or other underlying medical conditions
- Environmental factors, such as exposure to secondhand smoke
- Immobility, which causes pressure sores, also known as bed sores
- Poor blood flow
- Poor nutrition
- Repeated trauma from improper management of the wound, including use of toxic solutions or traumatic dressing application and removal
We take a team approach to your health to provide the best possible treatment for your wound. Your IU Health Wound Care team may consist of clinicians from various disciplines including nurses, physical therapists, certified wound specialists, wound, ostomy and continence nurses, diabetic educators and physicians of multiple specialties.
Our wound care specialists will carefully assess your condition using a variety of tools including:
- Laboratory testing
- Vascular diagnostics, to assess blood flow to the injured part of your body
- Nutritional screening, to ensure that you are getting the essential nutrients your body needs to heal injured tissues
- Radiographic imaging, also called X-rays, for viewing damaged tissue below the surface
This diagnostic information allows us to plan the most effective course of care for healing your wound.
Our Services
Your individualized treatment plan may include:
Compression and lymphedema management
Compression bandaging and lymphedema therapy are used to reduce swelling, particularly in arms and legs, with specialized bandaging and manual techniques.. We offer many kinds of compression therapies, including compression bandaging, manual techniques and compression pumps.
Negative pressure wound therapy
Negative pressure wound therapy promotes healing using a gentle vacuum pump. The vacuum draws increased blood flow to the area and stimulates cells to promote new tissue growth, allowing the wound to heal quicker. Negative pressure wound therapy allows you to heal from the comfort of your own home with support from our highly-skilled home care team.
Benefits of negative pressure wound therapy:
- Reduces hospital length of stay
- Accelerates wound healing
- Promotes new tissue growth
- Reduces infection rates
Custom total contact casting
Total contact casting is considered the gold standard of treatment if you have wounds on the bottom of your feet due to diabetes. A cast customized to your foot transfers the weight of your body away from the wound itself when you stand or walk. (This treatment may not be available at all hospital locations).
Hydrotherapy
IU Health wound specialists use hydrotherapy to increase circulation to the wound, cleanse the wound of bacteria and debris, and to relieve pain. We offer hydrotherapy in the form of pulsed lavage—simultaneously irrigating and removing fluid from a wound to cleanse and heal it.
Ultrasound
Ultrasound decreases inflammation and pain in soft tissue. Non-contact low frequency ultrasound is used to decrease bacteria and debris in a wound, as well as decrease inflammation, stimulate cells to grow new tissue and to decrease pain associated with the wound. Contact low frequency ultrasound assists with wound cleansing and debridement without a significant increase in pain. (This treatment may not be available at all hospital locations.)
Sharp selective debridement
This is the removal of tissue that is no longer healthy from the surface of a wound. This helps prevent infection and allow new healthy tissue to grow in its place.
Electrical stimulation
Electrical stimulation transfers a safe level of electrical energy through a tissue using electrode pads. This has shown to stimulate healing in wounds that have not responded to traditional wound care.
Ultraviolet-C
Ultraviolet-C is the process of using a low frequency light that targets and kills bacteria on the wound surface.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO therapy) is used to treat non-healing wounds. HBO therapy delivers 100% pure oxygen under increased atmospheric pressure in a clear acrylic, mono-place chamber.
Benefits of hyperbaric oxygen therapy:
- Accelerates the wound healing process
- Increases oxygenation to all tissues
- Promotes collagen and new skin development
- Reduces swelling and discomfort
- Promotes new blood vessel formation
- Increases capillary growth
- Activates bactericidal activity killing bacteria
Other therapies
In addition to medical treatment and care of the wound itself, you may also be referred to physical and or occupational therapy to address functional difficulties you may have with activities of daily living associated with the wound.
Our Approach to Wound Care
We take a team approach to your health to provide the best possible treatment for your wound. Your IU Health Wound Care team may consist of clinicians from various disciplines including nurses, physical therapists, certified wound specialists, wound, ostomy and continence nurses, diabetic educators and physicians of multiple specialties.
Our wound care specialists will carefully assess your condition using a variety of tools including:
- Laboratory testing
- Vascular diagnostics, to assess blood flow to the injured part of your body
- Nutritional screening, to ensure that you are getting the essential nutrients your body needs to heal injured tissues
- Radiographic imaging, also called X-rays, for viewing damaged tissue below the surface
This diagnostic information allows us to plan the most effective course of care for healing your wound.
Our Services
Your individualized treatment plan may include:
Compression and lymphedema management
Compression bandaging and lymphedema therapy are used to reduce swelling, particularly in arms and legs, with specialized bandaging and manual techniques.. We offer many kinds of compression therapies, including compression bandaging, manual techniques and compression pumps.
Negative pressure wound therapy
Negative pressure wound therapy promotes healing using a gentle vacuum pump. The vacuum draws increased blood flow to the area and stimulates cells to promote new tissue growth, allowing the wound to heal quicker. Negative pressure wound therapy allows you to heal from the comfort of your own home with support from our highly-skilled home care team.
Benefits of negative pressure wound therapy:
- Reduces hospital length of stay
- Accelerates wound healing
- Promotes new tissue growth
- Reduces infection rates
Custom total contact casting
Total contact casting is considered the gold standard of treatment if you have wounds on the bottom of your feet due to diabetes. A cast customized to your foot transfers the weight of your body away from the wound itself when you stand or walk. (This treatment may not be available at all hospital locations).
Hydrotherapy
IU Health wound specialists use hydrotherapy to increase circulation to the wound, cleanse the wound of bacteria and debris, and to relieve pain. We offer hydrotherapy in the form of pulsed lavage—simultaneously irrigating and removing fluid from a wound to cleanse and heal it.
Ultrasound
Ultrasound decreases inflammation and pain in soft tissue. Non-contact low frequency ultrasound is used to decrease bacteria and debris in a wound, as well as decrease inflammation, stimulate cells to grow new tissue and to decrease pain associated with the wound. Contact low frequency ultrasound assists with wound cleansing and debridement without a significant increase in pain. (This treatment may not be available at all hospital locations.)
Sharp selective debridement
This is the removal of tissue that is no longer healthy from the surface of a wound. This helps prevent infection and allow new healthy tissue to grow in its place.
Electrical stimulation
Electrical stimulation transfers a safe level of electrical energy through a tissue using electrode pads. This has shown to stimulate healing in wounds that have not responded to traditional wound care.
Ultraviolet-C
Ultraviolet-C is the process of using a low frequency light that targets and kills bacteria on the wound surface.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO therapy) is used to treat non-healing wounds. HBO therapy delivers 100% pure oxygen under increased atmospheric pressure in a clear acrylic, mono-place chamber.
Benefits of hyperbaric oxygen therapy:
- Accelerates the wound healing process
- Increases oxygenation to all tissues
- Promotes collagen and new skin development
- Reduces swelling and discomfort
- Promotes new blood vessel formation
- Increases capillary growth
- Activates bactericidal activity killing bacteria
Other therapies
In addition to medical treatment and care of the wound itself, you may also be referred to physical and or occupational therapy to address functional difficulties you may have with activities of daily living associated with the wound.
Oct 14
Since January Lisa Carnes has been working with physical therapists at IU Health's wound care center to treat her lymphedema.
Patient Stories for Wound Care
Oct 14
Since January Lisa Carnes has been working with physical therapists at IU Health's wound care center to treat her lymphedema.
