Wound Care
WOUND HEALING & LIMB PROTECTION
Wound care focuses on evaluating and managing sores, ulcers, or skin breakdown that are slow to heal. Care planning may include pressure relief, infection monitoring, circulation assessment, and follow-up to protect healing and limb health.
- Slow-healing sores need evaluation
- Pressure, infection, or circulation may contribute
- Diabetes can increase wound risk
- Early care helps protect tissue and healing
Evaluation & Next Steps
- Clear severity assessment and next steps
- Supportive care and recovery guidance
- Care across 4 Las Vegas locations
Call: (702) 703-4340
Hours: Mon–Fri: 8am–5pm
On this page
Quick Summary
Key takeaway: Wound care helps identify why a sore or ulcer is not healing and guides treatment to protect the skin, reduce complications, and support recovery.
Evaluation usually focuses on wound location, depth, drainage, infection signs, pressure points, circulation, diabetes control, footwear, and whether additional testing or specialty treatment is needed.
Overview
What is Wound Care?
Wound care is the evaluation and management of open sores, ulcers, or areas of skin breakdown. In the foot, ankle, or leg, wounds may heal slowly when pressure, poor circulation, swelling, infection, nerve damage, or medical conditions interfere with normal recovery.
Why Evaluation Matters
A wound that is not healing can worsen if the underlying cause is not addressed. Evaluation helps determine whether offloading, infection treatment, circulation testing, debridement, imaging, or coordinated vascular and foot care may be needed.
Symptoms
Wounds can look different depending on cause, location, depth, pressure, circulation, and infection risk. Any sore that is slow to heal or worsening should be evaluated.
Slow-Healing Sore or Ulcer
An open area on the foot, ankle, toe, or leg may remain irritated, drain fluid, or fail to close as expected.
Redness, Swelling, or Drainage
Increasing redness, warmth, odor, drainage, or swelling may suggest infection or worsening inflammation.
Pain, Pressure, or Numbness
Some wounds are painful, while others cause little discomfort when neuropathy or reduced sensation is present.
Skin Color or Tissue Changes
Darkening skin, callus buildup, exposed tissue, or color change around a wound may need closer evaluation.
Seek care now if…
Seek care now if…
Seek prompt evaluation if a wound is rapidly worsening, has spreading redness, increasing drainage, foul odor, fever, severe pain, black tissue, exposed bone, or new numbness or color change.
Causes & Risk Factors
Wounds may develop when pressure, circulation problems, swelling, diabetes, trauma, infection, or nerve damage make skin more vulnerable or slow the healing process.
Common Causes
- Pressure points or shoe friction
- Diabetes-related skin breakdown
- Poor circulation or PAD
- Venous swelling or fluid buildup
- Trauma, cuts, or blisters
- Infection or deeper tissue irritation
The cause is not always obvious from appearance alone. Testing may be needed when a wound is deep, recurrent, infected, or not improving.
Risk Factors
- Diabetes or neuropathy
- Peripheral artery disease
- Venous insufficiency or swelling
- Prior wounds or amputation risk
- Poor footwear fit
- Smoking or immune suppression
Diagnosis
Diagnosis focuses on the wound itself and the factors that may be preventing healing, including pressure, infection, circulation, swelling, sensation, and underlying medical conditions.
Typical Evaluation
- Review wound history and timeline
- Measure size, depth, and drainage
- Check skin, pulses, and sensation
- Assess pressure and footwear factors
- Consider culture, labs, or imaging
- Order circulation testing when needed
What to Bring
- Current medication list
- Diabetes or vascular history
- Prior wound care records
- Recent imaging or lab results
- Shoes, inserts, or offloading devices
Treatment Options
Treatment depends on wound cause, depth, infection risk, circulation, pressure, swelling, and overall health. Care may involve local wound treatment, offloading, infection control, vascular evaluation, and close follow-up.
Related care: Treatment planning may include wound protection, pressure relief, infection monitoring, circulation evaluation, and coordinated foot, ankle, and vascular care when healing is delayed.
Risk Management
- Diabetes control
- Smoking cessation
- Medication review
- Nutrition and hydration
Wound Protection
- Pressure relief
- Dressing changes
- Infection monitoring
- Footwear review
Vascular / Image-Guided Care
- Circulation testing
- Ultrasound or imaging
- Blood-flow evaluation
- Treatment planning if needed
Follow-Up Evaluation
- Wound not improving
- Increasing drainage
- New redness or odor
- Limb-risk concerns
Recovery
Healing depends on the wound cause, circulation, pressure control, infection risk, blood sugar control, and how consistently the care plan is followed. Some wounds improve steadily with protection and monitoring, while others need more advanced evaluation.
What Helps Most
- Pressure relief: Reduce friction and weight on the wound area.
- Consistent dressings: Follow wound-care instructions closely.
- Circulation support: Complete recommended vascular testing.
- Diabetes control: Blood sugar control supports healing.
- Foot checks: Watch for new sores, drainage, or color change.
When to Follow Up
- No healing progress: The wound is not getting smaller.
- More drainage: Fluid, odor, or redness is increasing.
- New pain or numbness: Sensation changes should be checked.
- Skin color changes: Dark, pale, or blue areas need attention.
- Fever or spreading redness: Infection signs need prompt care.
Frequently Asked Questions
A wound should be evaluated if it is not healing, is getting larger, has drainage or odor, becomes more painful, or occurs in someone with diabetes, circulation problems, or neuropathy.
Slow healing can happen when pressure, poor circulation, swelling, infection, diabetes, or nerve damage interferes with normal tissue repair.
Yes. Reduced blood flow can limit oxygen and nutrients needed for healing. Circulation testing may be recommended when a wound is slow to heal or limb risk is a concern.
Wound care may include cleaning, dressings, pressure relief, infection monitoring, circulation evaluation, imaging, and follow-up to track healing progress.
No. Some wounds are not infected but still need evaluation. Redness, warmth, odor, drainage, fever, or worsening pain may suggest infection and should be checked promptly.
Follow dressing instructions, reduce pressure on the area, keep follow-up visits, manage diabetes if present, avoid tobacco, and report worsening symptoms early.
Locations
LVVIS West Side Consultation Office
8930 W Sunset Rd, Suite 350
Las Vegas, NV 89148
Consultations and vascular evaluations
LV2 Limb & Vascular Division
8930 W Sunset Rd, Suite 350
Las Vegas, NV 89148
Limb preservation and podiatry partnership care
LVVIS East Procedure Office
2250 E Flamingo Rd, Suite 100
Las Vegas, NV 89119
Procedures, diagnostics, and circulatory care
LVVIS West Side Surgical Center
6120 S Fort Apache Rd, Suite 100
Las Vegas, NV 89148
Advanced vascular and interventional procedures