Skin Graft Doc Assists With Chronic Pain

Most people can relate to the pain and discomfort of a broken leg or burn. But, imagine living with that wound or chronic pain on a daily basis if it didn’t heal.
“Almost six million Americans suffer from chronic, non-healing wounds. Many are associated with complications from diabetes, vascular disorders, or poor nutrition,” said Dr. Marc Dolce, a board certified podiatric surgeon and member of Fisher-Titus Medical Center’s Wound Healing Institute. “Chronic wounds not only cause pain and discomfort, they are often signs of larger and more complicated problems.”
For the past 10 years, Dolce has been providing his limb salvage expertise at Fisher-Titus Medical Center.

“We have saved a lot of limbs through this approach,” he said.
Since the opening of the FTMC Wound Healing Institute in 2009, even more options and treatments to treat patients with non-healing wounds have become available. Dolce recently began performing “partial thickness” skin grafts at Fisher-Titus. Skin grafting is a surgical procedure in which skin or a skin substitute is placed over a burn or non-healing wound. Non-healing wounds, such as diabetic ulcers, venous ulcers or pressure sores, can be treated with skin grafts to prevent infection and further progression of the wounded area.
“A partial thickness skin graft contains a variable thickness of skin harvested from a site area on the patient, such as a thigh or buttock and transplanted it to the wound area,” Dolce said. “We have seen a high success rate in this procedure and have saved limbs that normally would have been amputated.” 
Dolce completed his residency in foot and ankle surgery at University Hospitals in Cleveland. He received special training in residency on plastic surgery and also has advanced training on wound healing treatments. Dolce graduated from The Ohio College of Podiatric Medicine in Cleveland in 1999 with a doctor of podiatric medicine; and from Bowling Green State University in 1992 with a bachelor of science degree. He has served as chairman of the department of podiatric surgery at the Ohio College of Podiatric Medicine and is currently a Fellow with the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons.
Another recent addition to the FTMC’s wound therapies is The Qoustic Wound Therapy System®, which optimizes healing and minimizes patient discomfort by using a low-frequency portable ultrasound. It lightly contacts the wound, gently separating and removing unwanted tissue while preserving healthy tissue. It also is used to prepare the wound for other therapies, such as grafts and flaps.