The Life Support Technologies Group Uses Hyperbaric Medicine to Prevent Amputations at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center, Suffern, NY
Tarrytown, NY (PRWEB) October 23, 2013 -- The Life Support Technologies Group (LST) uses hyperbaric medicine to support the multi-disciplinary Diabetic Foot and Limb Preservation Program to prevent amputations at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center, Suffern, NY. The Program is a model for treatment in the Hudson Valley and includes: hyperbaric medical treatment, non-invasive imaging and diagnostics, advanced surgical tools and techniques, biological dressings, nutritional and educational counseling, and advanced wound care.
Byoung Yang, M.D., System Medical Director - Wound Care and Hyperbarics at Bon Secours Health System, which includes Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center, Suffern, NY, said, “We have seen that patients in our Wound and Hyperbaric Institute often need a multi-disciplinary approach to ensure the best possible outcomes. The Limb Preservation Program is a direct result of the on-going collaboration between many different health care professionals in our Medical Center. We have seen remarkable results and have been able to preserve many limbs through this medically intense approach to patient care.”
Diabetics are most at risk for limb amputations as a result of non-healing wounds. The severity of the issue is seen through statistics provided by the American Diabetes Association: in year 2011, there were 25.8 million people diagnosed with diabetes in the United States; over 60% of non-traumatic limb amputations involve diabetics; and, approximately 65,700 non-traumatic lower-limb amputations were performed on diabetics in year 2006. Maintaining peoples' health enables limb preservation which positively impacts quality of life and saves in medical expenditures.
Jay G. Levine, D.P.M., Director of the Diabetic Foot and Limb Preservation Program at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center, Suffern, NY, said, “Preventive care is the best way for patients to maintain their limbs. Diabetic patients have to be especially vigilant. Through a combination of interventions, including education and excellent care at the earliest stages of wound development, it’s often possible to prevent limb loss.”
For patients whose wounds do not respond to conventional wound care -- nutritional guidance, antibiotics, surgical debridement, and advanced wound dressings -- the addition of hyperbaric medical treatment often makes the difference and enables a limb to be preserved. Hyperbaric treatment involves placing a patient in a specially constructed pressure vessel -- referred to as a chamber -- and increasing the atmospheric pressure while the patient breathes pure oxygen. While undergoing pressurization and de-pressurization, the patient feels a sensation similar to flying on a commercial aircraft. A single treatment for a non-healing wound typically lasts two hours; patients usually undergo one hyperbaric treatment each weekday. The total number of treatments needed to resolve a non-healing wound ranges from 20-40 but more treatments may be required.
For more information, see:
Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center, Suffern, NY
Wound and Hyperbaric Institute
The American Diabetes Association
About the Life Support Technologies Group (LST)
The Life Support Technologies Group (LST) is a Tarrytown, NY-based medical and life-support engineering company specializing in Advanced Wound Care and Hyperbaric Medicine Services to hospitals in the NY, NJ, CT region. LST has been in business for 20 years and currently provides services to 9 hospitals.
Glenn Butler, CEO
Life Support Technologies Group
(914) 333-8412
http://www.lifesupport-USA.com
Gerry Koinig, Life Support Technologies Group, http://www.lifesupport-USA.com, 914-333-8412, [email protected]
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