Podiatrist introduces procedure to help with non-healing wounds

Hannibal Regional Hospital has begun offering Dermagraft wound closure, a break-through product for the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers, to patients through the office of Dr. Edward Cline, podiatrist with Hannibal Regional Medical Group.
Dermagraft is appropriate for patients with chronic or non-healing wounds of the foot or leg. Dermagraft is a procedure which can be done in the doctor’s office and requires no sutures or anesthesia. This service is reimbursable through several major insurance companies as well as Medicare for patients suffering from diabetic wounds. A doctor referral is required for the procedure.
“Some patients have had trouble for months – years – and this can help them heal,” said Betty Louderman, RN BSN WOCN, diabetes educator and wound/ostomy nurse.
The procedure helps wounds heal by “rebuilding the first layer of skin,” explained Dr. Cline.  “Dermagraft is an artificial, laboratory-grown dermal substitute.”
Although the use of Dermagraft has just begun here, it has been available for several years.  The product is manufactured by Advanced BioHealing of La Jolla, CA. Dermagraft can help patients wounds heal more quickly while the patient maintains a more normal lifestyle.
“Hannibal Regional Hospital’s Wound Care Center is designed to provide advanced wound care solutions to the patient with diabetes and lower extremity wounds,” said Dr. Cline. “Our focus is on providing optimal patient care to help patients create a healing and healthy lifestyle. This procedure is a way to take a chronic non-healing foot or leg and heal it.”
For more information, call Betty Louderman at 406-1298 or Dr. Cline’s office at 221-3266.