Difficult-to-heal or chronic wounds, those that don't improve after 30 or more days of care, require advanced treatment. This advanced wound care is available at Kettering Health Network Wound Centers.
Who is at risk?
Difficult-to-heal wounds can result from traumatic injuries, diabetes, radiation tissue damage, rheumatoid arthritis, congestive heart failure, and many conditions that reduce blood flow to parts of your body. The following conditions put a person at risk for developing non healing ulcers:
Diabetes
Peripheral arterial disease
When the arteries are blocked and cannot bring enough blood to legs and feet, the nutrients and oxygen needed for healing do not reach the wound.
Venous insufficiency
The veins taking blood away from the legs do not function properly and blood backs up, seeps out into the skin tissues causing chronic swelling of the legs and weakness of the skin.
Chronic swelling of the legs for other reasons such as CHF, Lymphedema
