Hi, I’m Karen Hatcher. I’m a physical therapist at the Tahoe Forest Advanced Wound Clinic. Our team consists of Wound Care Certified Licensed Physical Therapists and the techs that assist us.
We specialize in treatment, education, and management of chronic wounds that are difficult to heal. These wounds can include traumatic wounds, arterial or venous ulcers, diabetic foot ulcers, surgical dehiscence, infected wounds, or any wound that is delayed in healing. Our primary skilled service is sharp debridement involving the use of instruments including forceps, scissors, scalpels, and curettes to remove non-viable necrotic tissue which interferes with healing, to stimulate healing, and to reduce infection risk while considering our patient’s pain.
For deeper wounds, we utilize negative pressure wound therapy, vacuum-assisted closure, also known as the wound vac, that can accelerate healing up to two times faster. We also apply total contact casting, the gold standard for offloading and healing diabetic foot ulcers or hard to heal wounds on feet. Therapeutic compression wrapping is another technique we use to improve circulation, reduce swelling, and assist with the transition to long-term compression garments, which reduces the risk of wound recurrence.
Our wide selection of advanced dressings allows for reduced dressing changes, reduction of wound disturbance, and promotes more convenient lifestyles for the patient. Education is a very important part of our treatment to maximize healing potential. We instruct on the wound healing process, we provide diabetic and nutritional tips, and when necessary, we assist with obtaining referrals for additional services including offloading footwear, long-term compression garments, and for medical specialists when indicated.
After a thorough evaluation, we typically see a patient twice weekly for the duration needed to assure wound closure. We just need a referral from a physician and we can take it from there. So if you or someone you know has a wound that is slow or resistant to heal, please consider Tahoe Forest Advanced Wound Clinic.
My name is Karen Hatcher. I’m a physical therapist at Tahoe Forest Advanced Wound Clinic. Thank you for watching.
