Wound Care Specialist: What They Do and When You Need One

Many people search for a wound care specialist after weeks of ointments and bandages. Here is why a surgeon’s training matters, what a specialist does, the signs you need one, and how care works at our offices.

Why does it matter if your wound care specialist is a surgeon?

Many wounds stay open for a reason a dressing can’t reach. The international diabetic foot guideline warns that even excellent local wound care can’t make up for untreated infection, poor blood flow or continued pressure.⁠^[3] Several of those causes are treated with surgery:

• Deep infection. For moderate and severe diabetic foot infections, the guideline suggests considering surgery within 24 to 48 hours, and it calls a surgical opinion essential in judging severe cases.⁠^[4]
• Pressure that won’t let up. When a device hasn’t healed an ulcer under the ball of the foot, the guideline suggests considering surgery such as Achilles lengthening. For an ulcer on a flexible bent toe, a tendon release is a recommended first-line treatment. These operations change the foot itself, so the relief depends less on wearing a device.⁠^[5]
• Dead tissue. Sharp debridement, with a scalpel or similar instrument, is standard care, and extensive dead tissue calls for an urgent surgical opinion.⁠^[6]

Dr. Efe Ozturk is a Foot and Ankle Surgeon who is also board certified in wound care (FAPWH). He sees you in the office and performs the operation himself when a wound needs one: debridement, draining infection, removing infected bone or a bony prominence, Achilles lengthening, toe tendon release, metatarsal head resection and skin grafts. You don’t start over with a new doctor when the plan changes. See limb salvage surgery and surgery that takes pressure off ulcers.

Some steps are done by others. Vascular specialists perform procedures that restore blood flow, and we coordinate with them. Vein procedures and hyperbaric oxygen are by referral.

What is wound care?

Wound care is the medical treatment of a wound and of whatever is keeping it open. Dressings are only part of it. Good wound care also covers cleaning away dead tissue, treating infection, checking blood flow, and taking pressure or swelling off the area.

What does a wound care specialist do?

“Wound care specialist” describes a focus more than one job title. The international diabetic foot guideline lists podiatrists, surgeons, vascular specialists, infectious disease specialists and nurses among the people involved.⁠^[3]

A specialist will usually:

• find the cause, and measure the wound so progress is a number
• remove dead tissue (debridement) and treat infection
• check circulation and arrange vascular care when needed
• relieve pressure with a boot or cast, or swelling with compression
• step up to surgery or skin substitutes when a wound stalls

No one does all of this alone. A review of 33 diabetic foot studies, none of them randomized, found fewer major amputations after a team was set up in 31 of them. Those teams drew on both medical and surgical disciplines.⁠^[7]

Signs a wound needs a specialist

It hasn’t improved in four weeks. This is the clearest sign. In a trial of 203 people with diabetic foot ulcers, ulcers that shrank more than the median by week 4 healed by week 12 in 58% of cases, against 9% of the rest.⁠^[1] Among 104 people with venous leg ulcers, early change also predicted healing.⁠^[2]

See a specialist sooner if:

• you have diabetes, numb feet or poor circulation
• the wound is getting bigger, deeper or more painful
• it has new drainage, redness or warmth (spreading redness, fever or foul-smelling drainage means the emergency room)
• you can see tendon or bone (call us the same day)
• a surgical wound has opened up
• the wound healed and came back in the same place
• you have been told you may need an amputation

Wound won’t heal on your leg? Common causes

About 80% of people with chronic leg ulcers have vein disease, artery disease or both. A leg ulcer is a sign, not a diagnosis, and the treatment depends on the cause.⁠^[8]

• Vein problems. Compression is the key treatment: a Cochrane review found people were more likely to heal fully within 12 months with compression than without it.⁠^[9] See venous leg ulcers.
• Artery problems. A wound needs blood to heal. Palpable foot pulses alone don’t rule out artery disease.⁠^[8]
• Less common causes. Inflamed blood vessels and skin cancer can cause leg ulcers too, and a biopsy may be needed to tell them apart.⁠^[8]

What happens at a first wound care visit?

Most of the first visit is listening, examining and measuring.

1. Your story. How long the wound has been there, what has been tried, and your health history.
2. The exam. We measure the wound, check for infection and sensation, and look at your shoes and how you walk.
3. Blood flow. We check your pulses and do noninvasive circulation testing at our practice.
4. Imaging. X-ray and ultrasound are available on site. MRI is arranged at an outside imaging center.
5. Treatment. We clean the wound, remove dead tissue if it is safe to do so, dress it and fit any boot or cast you need.
6. A plan. You leave knowing what we think is keeping the wound open and when you’ll be back. Wound care visits are usually every week or two.

Our first-visit guide lists what to bring.

If a wound still stalls, the plan changes. That may mean surgery, a skin substitute applied in the office, a vascular procedure or a referral for hyperbaric oxygen.

Surgery has limits too. Not every wound closes on time: about 23% of diabetic foot ulcers are still open at 12 months.⁠^[10] The guideline advises against the operating room when debridement can be done safely in the office.⁠^[6] Every procedure has risks, which we go over with you first.

Wound care near me: Lyndhurst, Paramus and Millburn

All three of our New Jersey offices provide wound care, with Dr. Ozturk.

• Lyndhurst: 623 Ridge Road, Suite 301, Lyndhurst, NJ 07071
• Paramus: 275 Forest Avenue, Suite 120, Paramus, NJ 07652
• Millburn: 90 Millburn Avenue, Suite 206, Millburn, NJ 07041

To book, call 908-215-5953 or book through Zocdoc, and tell us you have a wound so we can see you soon. Hours are Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with Saturday by appointment. See our office locations, or read more about wound care at Ozturk Foot & Ankle. Please call our office at 908-215-5953 to inquire about your insurance.

Common questions

Can a wound care specialist prescribe medication?

Usually, yes, depending on their license. Doctors and podiatrists prescribe as part of their practice. Nurse practitioners can too.⁠^[11] At our practice, that includes antibiotics when a wound is infected, adjusted to your culture results.

Is a wound care center the same as a wound care specialist?

Not quite. A wound care center is a clinic set up for wound treatment, and many are based at hospitals.⁠^[12] A specialist is the clinician treating you, in a center or an office, as Dr. Ozturk does.

How do I find a good wound care specialist near me?

Ask a few questions. Do they check circulation? Do they measure the wound every visit? What is the plan if it isn’t smaller in four weeks? Can they do surgery themselves, or do they have a surgeon to call?

Do I need a referral to see a wound care specialist?

It depends on your insurance plan. Please call our office at 908-215-5953 to inquire about your insurance.

The bottom line

A wound care specialist looks for the reason a wound won’t heal and treats it. Here, that doctor is also a Foot and Ankle Surgeon who can perform the operation when one is the fix. If a wound hasn’t clearly improved in four weeks, it’s time to be seen, and with diabetes, numbness or poor circulation, the time is now.