When children suffer from slow- or non-healing wounds, whether from an injury or illness, they need the expertise of doctors specially trained in wound care. The Pediatric Ambulatory Wound Service (PAWS) Clinic at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital offers a specialty program dedicated to providing comprehensive, supportive pediatric wound care for children.

Why Choose Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital

At Johns Hopkins All Children’s, we take pride in offering customized, expert care to aid in the healing of pediatric wounds. Highlights of our program include:

• A multidisciplinary team of experts are leaders in pediatric wound care and include pediatric surgeons, plastic surgeons, pediatric anesthesiologists, pediatric nurses and other specialists.
• Specialized wound dressings, including wound coverings made from materials specifically designed to absorb fluids and protect open skin while accelerating wound repair and reducing the risk of complications.

Conditions We Treat

Our pediatric surgeons can identify why wounds aren’t healing and treat them effectively, following the highest standards. Conditions we treat at the PAWS clinic include:

• Minor burns, which may be treated with topical antibiotics to prevent infection, while more severe burns may require blood transfusion and skin grafting
• Pressure ulcers (bed sores), which may be treated with sterile wound dressings that are regularly cleaned. The exact treatment will depend on the type and severity of the ulcer
• Abscesses, which may be treated with a drainage procedure, or for larger, more persistent or recurrent abscesses, may be treated with antibiotics or a minor operation
• Cellulitis (potentially serious bacterial skin infection), which is ordinarily tested to identify the cause of the infection and may be treated with antibiotics
• Minor trauma, for which treatment will vary by the type and location of the injury, but may include compression and ice to reduce swelling and pain medication
• Acute and chronic wounds, which may be treated with stitches, adhesive bandages and medication to reduce pain
• Ostomy care issues (surgically created opening for body to discharge wastes), which may be treated with topical solutions or replacing the ostomy.
• Non-healing surgical wounds, which may be treated with antibiotics and wound cleaning techniques