The Miracle of Wound Care: Stem Cell Technology for People with Disabilities (Part 1)
(Caution: This particular blog describes
a wound on my hip, not an uncommon occurrence for folks paralyzed and without
sensation on their bodies. Photos of the wound may be too graphic for some readers).
It's now almost two years since I
discovered a wound on the upper part of my left hip. At first, my personal care
assistant said the wound looked like an ingrown hair or a small pimple about to burst.
But over the next few days since the wound was noticed, "the pimple
did burst," but it didn't heal. The supposed "pimple" oozed a
mixture of blood, fluid and puss and continued to get worse.
I soon realized that the wound began
at the site where I was given an injection almost 30 years ago during a procedure
for my kidneys and bladder called a urodynamics study.
Urodynamic testing or urodynamics assesses how the bladder and urethra
are performing when it comes to retaining and releasing urine stored in the
bladder. Urodynamic tests can help explain symptoms such as: incontinence,
frequent urination, sudden, strong urges to urinate but without voiding.
The urologist gave me an injection of
an antibiotic that would help prevent an infection from brewing due to the
procedure. Since that injection, all I had was a
small lump on my hip that didn't hurt [I have no feeling below my chest] or
cause any problems.
One doctor, who checked the wound on a routine visit, a
year after the injection was given, suggested I watch the area on my hip and
massage it regularly.
All seemed fine until last October 2015
When the wound failed to heal, I
decided to call a local wound treatment center that was part of South Shore
Hospital in Weymouth, Massachusetts, and affiliated with the world renowned
Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.
I would soon learn how fortunate I
was to have this wound center located so close to my new "retirement" place of residence in
Hanson, Massachusetts.
South Shore Hospital and The Center for Wound Healing
 |
| Dr. Gibbons |
The checkup turned out to be not at
all routine. Dr. Ralph Froio, a seasoned orthopedic surgeon, examined me and
determined the wound was worse than I thought. In fact, Dr. Ralph Froio and Dr. Gary Gibbons, Medical Director and Professor of Surgery, surmised that it was indeed
possible that the injection could have caused the wound, since I had no other
trauma to my hip. My thighbone was penetrated by something and was leaking
calcium into my hip for almost three decades.
 |
| Dr. Froio |
The doctors treated me with
traditional wound therapy for several months. But after months of working on the wound, the
medical team, led by Dr. Gibbons, began a series of debridement's for “heterotropic bone, off-loading with layered
felted foam and acticoat.”
The wound wasn't pretty
This
treatment uses a hydrocolloid that is an opaque or a transparent[1] dressing for wounds. A
hydrocolloid dressing is biodegradeable,
non-breathable, and adheres to the skin, so no
separate taping is needed.
Trade
names include Exuderm, Comfeel Plus, Duoderm, Granuflex,
Ultec, and 3M Tegaderm Hydrocolloid.
 |
| X-ray of bone leaking in wound |
The wound grew larger as more and
more calcium, blood and fluids continued to seep out of the wound. In addition,
the wound continued to expand as more calcium evacuated from the injured site
and eventually began to have an odor. The odor was a dead giveaway for
infection.
 |
| Wound on admission |
Although I couldn't feel any pain, I
did experience autonomic dysreflexia, with symptoms of sweating, spasticity and fatigue. In other words, my
body was trying to fight this infection but the wound wouldn't close.
I also had to stop sleeping on my
left side. My normal routine was to sleep on my left side and then on my right,
changing positions every night. This was to prevent a skin breakdown from
forming on my body.
I have slept each night like this for almost 35 years since
I broke my neck in a body surfing accident - - until this wound setback. This
kind of body maintenance is necessary to maintain a healthy lifestyle,
considering that I am a C5 – C6 quadriplegic due to a spinal cord injury.
More bad news: hip surgery
The worst that could happen did. On October
2015 a wound decaying accompanied by a strong odor was unveiled during a
routine weekly checkup. That added up to infection.
One look by Dr. Gibbons told me that something was
horribly wrong. Without hesitation, he told my wife Maggie and I to go directly
to Brigham and Women’s Medical Center for immediate “surgical consultation” and he would contact Douglas Laurence Helm, MD and alert him to the emergency surgery.
[End Part I]
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