Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children offers exceptional, compassionate pediatric wound care, whether your child is staying in the hospital or coming in for follow-up care at our outpatient clinic.
Our multidisciplinary staff includes doctors from general surgery, plastic surgery and orthopedic surgery, as well as specially trained wound nurses and other health care professionals. Together, we'll formulate a customized plan to help your child's wound heal and minimize any accompanying pain and stress.
Because every wound is different, and so is every child, we'll spend plenty of time at your child's first visit going over your child's medical history. We'll assess the wound, review how it occurred, and ask about any chronic conditions or allergies your child may have and any medications your child is taking. We may also order blood tests and additional tests.
chronic health problems — Heart disease, diabetes, kidney disease, immune system disorders and cancer can all negatively affect the body's natural healing process by interfering with healthy blood flow, nutrient absorption and immune response.
infection — Wound healing is an active, energy-using process. An infection anywhere else in the body can tax the body's resources, diverting them away from the wound.
medications — Certain medications, such as corticosteroids and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) pain relievers (such as ibuprofen), are known to inhibit tissue healing.
nutrition — The body needs a steady supply of nutrients to fuel the healing process. Inadequate nutrition can greatly delay healing.
radiation and chemotherapy — These life-saving cancer treatments have the unwanted side effect of killing healthy cells and suppressing the body's ability to fight infection.
smoking — Smoking disrupts the healing process by preventing oxygen from reaching the cells.
After we meet with you and your child, we'll create an individualized treatment plan that focuses on preventing infection, supporting the healing process, and taking steps to ensure that the wound won't recur.
How Do We Care for Wounds?
Wound care is a rapidly advancing field of medicine, but it requires special considerations for our pediatric patients. For example, although children are generally quicker to heal than adults, their skin is also typically more sensitive. The benefit of coming to a pediatric-focused wound care center is that we understand the issues that only affect children and will take these into consideration when planning which dressings and medications will be part of your child's treatment.
irrigation — Wounds heal better when they remain moist. Irrigation is the steady flow of a solution (usually saline or salt water) on the wound to hydrate it and remove debris.
cleaning — Using moistened gauze pads, a nurse will gently and carefully remove dried blood, dead skin and any other debris from the wound.
dressing — There are many dressing choices available made of various materials. Some contain additives (such as iodine, silver, collagen or antibiotics) and some do not. Your child's doctor and wound nurse will discuss the best option for your child. Wounds that can be stitched closed might simply require routine cleansing and fresh bandages. Other, deeper wounds might heal better if left open and "packed" (when gauze is applied inside an unstitched wound to help it heal from the inside out). We always try to choose the gentlest, most effective dressing so as not to cause additional pain on removal.
Depending on the type of wound, your child may require a course of antibiotics to prevent infection. Pain medications may be necessary as well if the wound is severe.
At subsequent appointments, we'll carefully inspect the wound, noting the color, amount and odor of drainage. We'll measure the wound to make sure it's healing well and check for any signs of infection. Afterward, we'll clean and re-dress the wound.
In many cases, if they're willing, parents and caregivers can be taught how to properly clean and care for a wound at home. We'll discuss whether home care is an option for your child, and if so, your comfort level in taking it on. We can also arrange for visits from a home health care nurse to assist you if necessary.
We understand that young children can't always describe their pain accurately. That's why we work hard to make sure children are as comfortable as possible as we care for their wound. Pain management specialists can alleviate discomfort, and also reduce anxiety and stress by offering sedation for certain procedures.
Working together, we'll manage your child's integrated treatment plan seamlessly.
We believe that one of the best ways to advance medicine to benefit children is through collaboration. With the help of our award-winning electronic health record (EHR), we work closely with our own Nemours care providers, as well as physicians and health care professionals in the community.
NemoursOne, our electronic health record, is a secure, online environment that connects all phases of care for a child — inpatient, outpatient, at home and at the referring physician's office. So, no matter who your child is seeing within our hospital or at one of our satellite locations, everyone can access the same information at the same time.
Using a special physician portal, primary care and referring physicians can also securely access information about the care provided by the Nemours medical team so that they can monitor your child's progress any time, day or night. Through a special program called the "Student Health Collaboration," public school nurses in Delaware can also access your child's electronic medical record (with your permission) so that they can understand your child's condition and treatment, and be better informed about how to best care for your child during the school day.