Pottstown Memorial Medical Center Opens Center for Wound Healing
Names Co-Medical Directors

Pottstown, PA –  In early December, Pottstown Memorial Medical Center (PMMC) opened the doors to its new Center for Wound Healing.  Benjamin Eskra, MD and Dennis Montiero, MD, Plastic Surgeons on staff at PMMC, have been named co-medical directors of the Center.

Some say that time heals all wounds, but the truth is that without advanced therapies, some wounds can take years and even decades to heal. Other wounds that do not respond to treatment may lead to amputation (in extreme cases).

The doctors and clinical staff at PMMC’s Center for Wound Healing are skilled in the latest therapeutic methods in wound management and stay abreast of cutting-edge information through continuous training. Patients are treated with state-of-the-art technology ranging from having their progress charted through digital photographs to, in some cases, being treated in one of the two hyperbaric oxygen chambers.

The Center for Wound Healing at Pottstown Memorial Medical Center offers the community state-of-the-art specialized care for wounds that won’t heal on their own.
According to Steve MacLauchlan, CEO, the hospital saw a need for a wound care program to be offered locally.  “We pride ourselves on being able to offer big-city care, right here at home,” says MacLauchlan.  “Anytime we can bring a state-of-the-art specialty service like wound care to the community so our patients don’t have to travel, we are better serving the community.”  The closest wound healing center is located in Reading 22 miles to the west.
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Wound healing helps diabetics

Podiatrist John P. Dahdah, DPM, believes the wound center is a terrific asset to the community.  The opportunity for different medical specialties to work together is the strength of a wound care center.  “As a physician whose patients can benefit greatly from a local wound center, I am extremely pleased to have this service available locally,” says Dr. Dahdah.                                           

Who should seek wound healing treatment?

Likely candidates for treatment include those suffering from diabetic ulcers, pressure ulcers, infections, compromised skin grafts and flaps, and wounds that haven’t healed within 30 days. The center’s hyperbaric oxygen chambers can also be used to treat patients suffering from such uncommon ailments as cyanide poisoning, gangrene, carbon monoxide poisoning, brown recluse spider bites and the “bends,” or decompression sickness.

What is Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy?
One of the highly specialized treatments offered at the Center is hyperbaric oxygen therapy, which works by surrounding the patient with 100-percent oxygen at higher than normal atmospheric pressure.  This increases the amount of oxygen in the patient’s blood and, in the case of wounds, allow red blood cells to pass more easily through the plasma into the wound to heal it from the inside out.   Diabetic foot wounds are an excellent example of wounds that may benefit most from this type of treatment.

How Does it Work?
Relaxing on a bed encased with a large transparent plastic shell, patients can watch movies on televisions and VCR players mounted above the chamber while hearing the movies and conversing with others outside the chamber through a speaker system.

How Does it Feel?
The only physical sensation resulting from the treatment is a slight pressure on the eardrum, such as that felt when a plane lands, as the air in the chamber is compressed.
In addition to tissue oxygenation, the Center for Wound Healing at PMMMC also employs the use of vascular studies, tissue culturing and pathology, revascularization, skin grafting, and clinical or surgical debridement.
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The Center for Wound Healing is open Monday-Friday, 8 am – 4 pm.  For more information about the Center for Wound Healing at PMMC, visit their website at www.pottstownmemorial.com or call the Center directly at (610) 327-7575.

Note:  If interested in Photo Op, please call (610) 327-7092.