Therapy helps leg wounds heal

The 78-year-old man cried after a persistent wound on his left leg healed in only two months.

It was the only leg he had left. His right leg had been amputated below the knee, said Dr. Lam Le, the medical director of the St. John Wound Center, 4538 S. Harvard Ave.

"He said: 'This is exactly how the other side started. What if I had met you earlier? I might still have my other leg,'" she recalled.

Gloria Clark, 63, has similar emotions about her leg wound.

After 10 months of dressing changes and another type of treatment, the thigh-to-ankle wound would not heal.

"I just get emotional when I think about it," the Sand Springs woman said.

Last December, she had an emergency quadruple heart bypass surgery. Surgeons took a vein from her right leg to repair her heart. The wound it left on her leg just would not heal.

Clark's primary care physician referred her to Dr. Le.

Unlike the 78-year-old man, Clark is receiving hyperbaric oxygen chamber therapy. Le expects Clark's leg to be completely healed by the new year.

"My goodness, it's pretty amazing," Clark said.

St. John Wound Center recently installed the first two computer-controlled hyperbaric chambers in Oklahoma. The wound center is one of two in Tulsa. The other is at Oklahoma State University Medical Center.

Hyperbaric chambers administer pure oxygen under increased atmospheric pressure. They allow more oxygen to be diffused into an individual's blood, activating

white blood cells and promoting healing of chronic wounds, she said.

Clark undergoes daily two-hour treatments in the hyperbaric chamber, excluding weekends.

"It's not uncomfortable. The first and last 15 minutes, my ears kind of pop like when you're in an airplane," she said. "But I watch TV and listen to music."

Clark has not stopped any of her activities because of her wound. She spent weekends recently hammering nails and painting a Habitat for Humanity house.

"Over the last year, I spent a great deal of time changing dressings. I changed them twice a day," she said. "What it means to me is I'll get back some time."

Le said wound care is important to avoid complications, such as infection or amputations.

"The quicker your wound heals, the less complications you're going to have," she said.

The wound center's most frequent patients are diabetics or people with chronic venous disease, Le said. But anyone with a non-healing wound is welcome at the wound center, she said.

Although patients are free to call the center, Le prefers referrals from their primary physicians.

"The patient has a wound that's not healing for a reason. We treat the whole patient, not just the wound," she said.

For information or to find out about treatment, call the wound center at 712-3373.

Kim Archer
581-8315
kim.archer@tulsaworld.com

By KIM ARCHER World Staff Writer.