Wound center takes multidiciplinary approach

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New Year's Eve was more than a bad memory for Edward Felcyn.


That's when the 37-year-old Covina resident accidentally set his shirt on fire as he tried to put out a fireplace gone wild.

Felcyn noticed flames leaping out of the fireplace shortly after coming home from work about 6 p.m.

The fire quickly spread to the linoleum floor, a shelf and a chair.

Adrenaline coursed through his veins as he tried to fight the fire to keep his house from destruction.

Somehow, his shirt caught fire. But Felcyn was so focused on saving his house that he was unaware of the threat to his life.

Fortunately, a neighbor came into the house with a fire extinguisher and helped him put out the fire. It was the neighbor who told him he had "flesh hanging off his hands."

Felcyn ended up in the Los Angeles County-USC Burn Center for two weeks with first-, second- and third-degree burns.

A skin graft from his leg was necessary to replace the charred skin on his right forearm.

His treatment continues at the Wound Care Center at Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center.

The care center is headed by Dr. Dev Wali, a general surgeon and plastic surgeon.

Wali, who has worked at the LAC-USC Burn Center, has advanced training in wound care, including grafting and surgical flaps.

The field of plastic surgery came about from years of treating burn and war injuries, Wali said.

"The treatment of wounds can be complex," Wali said. "What distinguishes the Wound Care Center at PVHMC is the coordinated approach and integrated aspect of its treatment."

Wali is quick to call in other specialists at the hospital, which could include an endocrinologist, infectious disease specialist or other specialists.

Wound care is a labor-intensive field of medicine, with many tasks such as dealing with dead tissue, and application of creams and sophisticated dressings, the doctor said.

Among other techniques:

Compression pumping and wraps to improve circulation.

Negative pressure therapy, which involves applying negative pressure via a pump to remove fluids from the wound.

Orthotic shoe modification to off-load pressure areas, relieving pressure from surfaces of the foot affected by diabetic foot ulcers.

Since opening in 1954, the Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Department at PVHMC has successfully managed acute and chronic wounds at its multiple outpatient clinics.

"Many people don't realize that wound care is part of the basic core of what physical therapists do," said Marti Kunishima, a senior manager in the physical therapy department.

Like many other PVHMC Wound Care Center patients, Felcyn needs physical therapy as well as wound treatment.

An insurance underwriter, Felcyn spends most of his days on a computer keyboard - work he can't perform now.

Felcyn said his fingers hurt when he moves them, and replacement skin has not come back to health on all of his fingertips.

Injuring the skin graft on the right arm before it settles in is also a concern, Felcyn said.

Some atrophy of his hands and wrists has set in from disuse. His physical therapy is designed to return both flexibility and strength.

Felcyn said he hopes to return to work in early March.