Wound treatment changes patients' lives at the Regional Hospital of Baixo Amazonas
The state public health network unit has a specialty outpatient clinic that offers tools and technologies to heal medium and high complexity injuries
Two years after completing treatment, Ricardo Sérgio de Moraes Furtado, 59, continues to visit the Regional Hospital of Baixo Amazonas Dr. Waldemar Penna (HRBA) in Santarém, in western Pará. The reason? To thank and talk to the professionals who took care of him. "Whenever I can, I stop by here to have a coffee and chat with them, to thank them and hug them," says Ricardo.
Between 2021 and 2023, the retiree underwent sessions at the HRBA wound outpatient clinic after the removal of a tumor from his right ankle. He arrived for treatment with a wound ten centimeters long and eight wide. Today, the problem is completely resolved.
"After the surgery, I was referred to the outpatient clinic and was very well received. I always say that here, they treat patients like family. When I arrived, I could hardly step properly. I looked at that wound and a great concern came over me. Would I return to my normal life? But thank God, the work was so well done that today I look and don’t even see the scar. It disappeared. I returned to my normal activities. All of this is the result of excellent care," he stated.
Technology - The unit has a wound outpatient clinic that treats medium and high complexity injuries. The HRBA professionals use techniques and technologies for this service, such as laser therapy, ozone therapy, coverage with activated charcoal with silver and with alginate with silver, and vacuum dressings.
Between January and July of this year, the Regional Hospital performed 3,541 consultations, an average of 504 per month. The department has two nurses and three nursing technicians, and serves users referred from other areas of the unit, with oncological profiles, vascular injuries, diabetic feet, postoperative wounds, orthopedic patients, and other cases.
"We are a reference and we treat not just one type of injury, but several. And we offer this more specialized treatment, which is not found in the basic health network. We serve a large average of patients with medium or acute injuries, who receive complete care. The treatment of an acute wound, for example, lasts about a month and a half to two months, so that we can close the wound. A record time because we have several tools and technologies that give us this support," informed nurse Domício Farias, responsible for the skin care team, trained in new technologies for dressing coverings, laser therapy, and ozone therapy.
Fernanda de Aguiar Cunha, 62, has been receiving treatment at HRBA since 2021 and, in the past, needed the services of the wound outpatient clinic twice: to treat an injury on her face and another on her left leg, after surgery due to a traffic accident.
"The dressing team is very important. They provide first-class treatment. If I am well today, it is because of them. To this day, I always come here to thank. If I could give them a gift, I would, for the good they have done for me and for other patients. They gave me the conditions to live. They gave me the conditions to be happy," stated Fernanda.
The treatment of injuries is based on activating blood circulation in the area, which favors the oxygenation of tissues. Ozone therapy, for example, helps as an antimicrobial agent, while laser therapy ensures shorter repair time and has anti-inflammatory action.
"The one who benefits from all this is our patient. We manage to make the user leave better than they entered. Even more so to hear after days, months, or years that they are healed and have returned to their daily activities. This is gratifying for us," highlighted Domício Farias.
“At HRBA, we always seek to provide complete care to our users. The professionals at the wound outpatient clinic treat the injuries and use techniques that allow this to be done in the shortest possible time, accompanying patients throughout the recovery period. It is a service of excellence that certainly makes a big difference for those receiving treatment," reinforced the general director of the unit, Matheus Coutinho.
Service: HRBA is a reference in medium and high complexity for a population of 1.4 million people, residing in 29 municipalities, and provides 100% referenced service, meeting the demand originating from the State Regulation Center.
The unit belongs to the Government of Pará, being managed by the Instituto Social Mais Saúde in partnership with the State Department of Public Health (Sespa). It operates at Avenida Sérgio Henn, nº 1100, in the Diamantino neighborhood, in Santarém.
