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Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Hyperbaric oxygen therapy can treat wounds
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- Non-healing Wounds
- Necrotizing Soft Tissue
Infections
- Skin Grafts and
Compromised Flaps
- Radiation Necrosis
- Osteomyelitis

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy for Wounds

Non-healing Wounds
A wound is a disruption of intact tissue and in many cases can be extremely difficult to treat.  This break down of tissue along with the lack of perfusion can be the cause of non healing wounds in the diabetic and non-diabetic patient, decubiti (bed sores), leg ulcers, infected bones and many more. The conventional treatment of these wounds can become very costly.  Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is used when the standard conventional care has shown no measurable signs of improvement.  It increases the amount of oxygen being carried by blood to the organs and tissues helping to initiate and re-establish microvascularization, it is also known to enhance the reaction of certain antibiotics and helping white blood cells to fight infection.

Necrotizing Soft Tissue Infections
A necrotizing soft tissue infection may result from aerobic or anaerobic organism and often occurs after a trauma, surgical procedure and/or around a foreign body.  As the infection develops and increases, it decreases the level of oxygen to the area of injury.  As an adjunct therapy to debridement and antibiotics, HBO adversely affects the growth of anaerobic bacterial growth.

Skin Grafts and Compromised Flaps
A “skin graft” is the transfer of a portion of the skin without its blood supply to a wound and a “flap” consists of the skin and deeper tissues including muscle and bone which has its own blood supply or  blood vessels that have been attached to the site. Following the surgical procedure where there has been decreased micorvascularization or hypoxia, hyperbaric oxygen treatments deliver a high concentration of oxygen which helps promote the development of new capillaries.  The wound bed as well as the graft depends on new blood supply in order to survive as does the flap.

Radiation Necrosis
Radiation Necrosis is a tissue injury caused by radiation therapy for cancer. One of the complications from radiation is damage to tissue, there is loss of oxygen due to lack of blood supply.  Osteoradionecrosis is when the bone has been injured also.

When only muscle and skin is injured then it is referred to as soft tissue radionecrosis, hyperbaric oxygen therapy has been shown to stimulate growth of functioning capillaries and provide a better healing environment.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy has also been used to treat radiation injury to other parts of the body, such as bladder, bowels, brain and chest.

Osteomyelitis
Osteomyelitis is an infection of the bone that is usually caused by bacteria and can be chronic or acute.  It can be a result of a bacterial bloodstream infection or occur from a nearby infection due to a traumatic injury.  Refractory osteomyelitis is a bone infection which has not responded to suitable treatment.  Hyperbaric Oxygen increases the oxygen level in the infected area which helps promote healing in the hypoxic tissues, and is used as an adjunctive therapy with appropriate antibiotics, debridement, surgery and nutrition.