NEW CLINIC TREATS DIABETIC WOUNDS, PREVENTS AMPUTATIONS

TORONTO, Ontario… In Toronto, more than 10,000 diabetic patients suffer a complication of diabetes: chronic, non-healing diabetic wounds, usually on the foot or leg. Each year, approximately 1,000 of these patients will undergo amputation and become permanently disabled. With the opening of the Judy Dan Wound Care Centre today, the first non-profit clinic of its kind in Canada, Dr. Ron Linden aims to prevent unnecessary amputations and reduce patient suffering by treating diabetic wounds with hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Located in the former Branson Hospital at 555 Finch Avenue West in Toronto, the multi-disciplinary wound care centre is equipped to treat 120 patients per year.

"Amputation due to chronic diabetic wounds is a preventable tragedy," says Dr. Ron Linden, CEO and medical director for Ontario Wound Care, Inc., the registered non-profit charitable organization that operates the centre. "Hundreds of legs are being amputated in Ontario, whereas in other parts of the world they are being saved through the use of hyperbaric medicine. The Judy Dan Wound Care Centre will enable us to provide greater access to diabetic patients with chronic wounds that are unresponsive to standard wound care and at risk of amputation."

During treatment, a patient relaxes in a hyperbaric chamber breathing 100% oxygen while the atmospheric pressure is increased 2-3 times normal level. This saturates the blood with oxygen. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy heals chronic diabetic wounds by delivering this high concentration of oxygen to the affected tissues, enabling the cells that repair wounds and fight infection to function. The average course of treatment runs daily for thirty sessions, each lasting 90 minutes.

Health Canada recognizes hyperbaric oxygen therapy as an effective treatment for diabetic wounds and twelve other medical conditions. Internationally, hyperbaric oxygen therapy has been recognized as an effective treatment for chronic diabetic wounds for more than twenty years, and has a success rate of 75%.

Eight hospitals in Canada are equipped to provide hyperbaric oxygen therapy to a limited number of patients. Currently in Ontario, less than .1% of diabetic patients receive specialized medical care that could prevent amputations when standard treatment fails them. Of the 10,000 Torontonians with diabetic wounds, less than 20 are accessing hyperbaric treatment.

Toronto businessman and philanthropist Aubrey Dan donated $350,000 to fund the purchase of the three state-of-the-art hyperbaric chambers for the centre, which is named in honor of his mother Judy Dan. From the age of 18, Judy Dan struggled with the lifestyle challenges that go hand in hand with Type 1 diabetes and endured a series of amputations prior to her death in 1995.

"I saw the devastating impact losing a limb had on my mother's life and I believe that hyperbaric therapy might have saved her had it been readily available," said Aubrey Dan. "Helping others live a better life is what made my mother happiest and that same value is the inspiration behind this facility and the work of Dr. Linden and his team."

Patients seeking treatment at the Judy Dan Wound Care Centre can be referred by a specialist or their family physician, or they may self-refer to the facility. Patients are required to undergo medical tests to determine if they are suitable candidates for the treatment.

According to Dr. Linden, the full cost of treating one patient in order to save one leg, and one life is approximately $3,000. By contrast, the cost of an amputation is $60,000. Linden estimates the Judy Dan Wound Care Centre will prevent 90 amputations in its first year of operations, a savings of $4.5 million in annual health care costs.

For more information on the Judy Dan Wound Care Centre located at 555 Finch Avenue West, 2nd Floor in Toronto, call 416-223-6600 or visit www.ontariowoundcare.com.

For interviews or a facility tour contact:
Karen Lorenowicz
416-590-1755 ext. 702
karen.l@sympatico.ca

To download a media kit and photographs visit: www.ontariowoundcentre.com