Wound Care

For those who suffer with chronic or non-healing wounds, help is as close as the Norman Regional Oklahoma Wound Center®. Our specialized treatment and comprehensive approach helps heal wounds that have resisted other treatments. If you have sores or wounds that have not improved during the course of conventional treatment, Norman Regional Oklahoma Wound Center is the place to be.

The Oklahoma Wound Center is dedicated to the support and treatment of patients with chronic, non-healing wounds. Our team of experts include board-certified physicians, experienced wound care nurses, and certified hyperbaric specialists.

We offer

Comprehensive care
Patient and family education about their wound treatments
Circulation screening tests
Specialized dressings including negative pressure therapy, total contact castings, biologic alternative tissue applications, and compression wraps
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy
Diabetic Limb Salvage

The doctors and staff at the Oklahoma Wound Center will provide you with special treatment plans. The plans will help heal your wound as quickly as possible. You may need tests that will tell us more about your wound. You will also be taught how you can prevent new wounds.

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy involves the patient breathing 100% oxygen in a pressurized chamber. The increased oxygen in the blood leads to more oxygen in the wound which leads to increased healing.

What is Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment like?
It is not painful. Patients lie in the chamber and may watch television or movies, communicate with staff, drink water or even nap during the treatment. With four brand new individualized Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy chambers, the Oklahoma Wound Center is able to provide Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment for up to four patients at one time.

Certified Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy technicians
Norman Regional's Oklahoma Wound Center has certified Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy technicians.

Our technicians administer Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy to patients as prescribed by a hyperbaric physician. In addition to passing a strenuous exam, our certified technicians have completed a 40-hour introductory hyperbaric medicine course, a minimum of 500 hours of clinical hyperbaric training, as well as verified and endorsed core competencies in Hyperbaric Therapy.

Watch the video below to learn more about Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy.

Diabetic Limb Salvage

Norman Regional Health System is dedicated to decreasing amputations and improving healing for diabetic ulcers. We are waging a war on these wounds with our comprehensive Diabetic Limb Salvage Program (DLS). This premier program and multispecialty team was developed to address the needs of this special patient group in a timely manner and coordinate care for the best outcomes. This team is our patient’s biggest ally in the battle for recovery.

Norman Regional has processes in place to look for patients with diabetic ulcers that could benefit from the Diabetic Limb Salvage Program. Also if you or a family member has a diabetic foot ulcer, please speak with your family or general physician about a referral to the Oklahoma Wound Center or DLS program.

What does it mean to have a diabetic foot ulcer?
Diabetic wounds have the potential to get worse quickly. A small sore on the foot or leg could easily end in amputation without the proper care. At Norman Regional we take every diabetic wound seriously.

The facts are:

Oklahoma has a higher diabetes rate than the national average
1 in 15 diabetic patients will develop a diabetic foot ulcer
Oklahoma has a higher rate of below-the-knee and above-the-knee amputations than the rest of the U.S.
Having a diabetic foot ulcer increases the risk of amputation, especially when combined with smoking, kidney failure, or peripheral artery disease
The death rate at five years for a diabetic foot ulcer is higher than colon cancer or breast cancer

"Waiting to see what happens" may be the worst choice for a diabetic foot ulcer.

What is Diabetic Limb Salvage?
The DLS program is a comprehensive approach to improved healing of diabetic ulcers and decreased amputation rates. This program encompasses inpatient and outpatient services and involves multiple specialists working as a team to address the many needs of the diabetic patient. The specialties who work with our patients include:

Emergency Medicine
Endocrinology
Infectious Disease
Internal Medicine/Hospitalists
Nephrology
Orthopedic Surgery
Podiatry
Vascular
Wound Care/HBO
The Diabetes Education Center
Others who will augment a patient’s treatment including experts in the fields of nutrition and tobacco cessation

The inpatient program is coordinated by Karen Ritchie, RN, DLS nurse navigator, to ensure the patient and his or her family understands the treatment plan.

Save A Leg, Save A Life
Save A Leg Save A Life is a non-profit foundation whose mission is to reduce the number of lower extremity amputations and to improve the quality of life for those who are afflicted with wounds and complications of diabetes and peripheral arterial disease. The group educates professionals, students and patients through advanced evidence based methods and community outreach.

As a corporate member of the Save A Leg Save A Life Foundation since 2012, the Norman Regional Oklahoma Wound Center shares the Save A Leg Save A Life mission.

People who may benefit from the specialized care at the Oklahoma Wound Center include those with:

Diabetic wounds
Neuropathic wounds
Pressure ulcers
Ischemic ulcers
Traumatic wounds
Burns
Surgical wounds
Venous insufficiency ulcers
Post-radiation wounds

Location and hours

The Oklahoma Wound Center is located inside the Heart Plaza medical building located off Interstate 35 and Tecumseh Road, on the Norman Regional Hospital campus.

We are open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

If you have any questions or would like to schedule an appointment, please give us a call at 405-307-6955.

For providers

A patient who has chronic or non-healing wounds that have not improved during the course of conventional treatment may benefit from the specialized wound care provided at the Oklahoma Wound Center.

Is Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy right for your patient?
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy:

Treats Ischemia by increasing the p02 in tissues
Stimulates Angiogenesis
Decreases Inflammation
Breaks the dangerous cycle of [Ischemia > Inflammation > Tissue Necrosis > Ischemia] Seen in:
Reperfusion Injury
Crush Injury
Compartment Syndrome
Acute Arterial Occlusion
Stimulates Bone Healing
Increases fibroblasts which increase collagen
Augments certain antibiotic effectiveness
Improves cell and capillary growth in irradiated tissues

Transcutaneous Oxygen Measurement (TCOM or TcPO2)
This noninvasive test of the extremity measures tissue oxygen pressures in different conditions (Room air, supplemental oxygen, and extremity elevation). It assesses if ischemia will hinder healing, so further vascular evaluation can be done. TCOMs predict the likelihood of healing certain amputation levels so that the most distal amputation can be planned. The results may be used to gauge how responsive tissue is to Hyperbaric Oxygen therapy.

Is the Diabetic Limb Salvage program right for your patient?
For a patient with diabetes and a lower extremity ulcer, days or weeks may mean the difference in saving that toe, foot, leg, or life. These patients cannot afford to fall through the cracks. Remember-Time is Tissue in Diabetic Foot Ulcers!

If the patient has underlying infection and/or ischemia it is even more critical that the treatment begin early. However, these processes may be occult, making diagnosis and treatment even more difficult.

Did you know that if a Diabetic Foot Ulcer has not healed by 50% in 30 days, it would likely never heal? These patients often have significant complications before ever bringing the problem to a healthcare provider.

The inpatient component involves screening for underlying complications, as well as treating the acute issues, including revascularization, infection treatment and surgical management of the diabetic limb as needed. Detailed follow up after hospital discharge with appropriate specialists ensures the patient has all aspects of their disease addressed.

The outpatient component starts either in the ED or as a referral to the Oklahoma Wound Center. The center serves as the hub of the program following the patient closely. Advanced healing modalities are utilized when indicated such as hyperbaric oxygen therapy, negative pressure wound therapy, casting, and biologic alternative tissue grafts.