Craig Mueller has become unwillingly accustomed to pain.
Six years ago, Mueller, 62, of Guttenberg, Iowa, was diagnosed with cancer of the tongue. After vigorous bouts of chemotherapy and radiation, Mueller was left with an open, infected wound -- about the size of an eraser -- exposing his deteriorated jawbone and leaving him in excruciating pain.
As a last-ditch effort, Mueller and his doctors turned their hopes toward hyperbaric medicine, a new form of treatment recently acquired by The Finley Hospital, to heal his wound and manage his pain.
"I've been through so much over the past six years," he said. "I've been in so much pain. On a scale from 1 to 10, I was always at 11."
On Thursday, Finley opened its Center for Wound Healing and Hyperbaric Medicine, which treats chronic nonhealing wounds like that of Mueller.
The center, located within the hospital, features state-of-the-art hyperbaric oxygen therapy, a treatment in which the patient breathes 100 percent oxygen inside a pressurized chamber. The treatment quickly delivers high concentrations of oxygen to the bloodstream and assists in
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"Our community is ready for a comprehensive center for wound care and we are ready to provide it to them," Kelleher said. "Having the center in Dubuque will help minimize the distance patients will have to travel to get the help they need."
Kelleher said the therapy helps many people who suffer with diabetes and can help save limbs that would otherwise be amputated. According to the Association for the Advancement of Wound Care, 30 percent of chronic wounds left untreated result in amputation, and nearly 50 percent of amputees die within five years.
Kelleher said the cost of treatments are covered by most insurance companies.
"If we can save those limbs, we can help save lives," said staff physician Dr. David Arnold. "What we saw with Craig was very common, and we call it osteoradionecrosis, which means killing of the bone through radiation. Our goal was to help heal his wound faster and relieve his pain, and so far we've been successful."
Mueller ended his treatment program Wednesday. It consisted of 30 chamber treatments in a six-week period. Within the next few weeks, Mueller will undergo another surgery and follow up with approximately 10 more treatments.
Mueller is not completely pain-free, but he believes the treatment could be a great advantage for anyone dealing with a chronic wound.
"I'd recommend it to anybody," Mueller said. "If they have the need for it, they should take advantage of it. It's at least worth it to try."
