Atlanta Hyperbaric and Wound Care Clinic

About Hyperbaric Oxygen

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy may be used as either primary or adjunctive care in:

 

Difficult Wounds: Difficult wounds including decubiti (bed sores), leg ulcers, skin grafts, crush injuries, infected bones, and osteoradionecrosis can develop into chronic conditions requiring costly hospitalization and extensive nursing care, when treated only with conventional medical procedures. These disabling conditions often show remarkable improvement with HBOT.

 

Skin Grafts, Flaps and Replants:  Following ischemia or vascular repair in cases where there has been decreased microcirculation, HBO has been demonstrated to maximize the viability and final functional level of the compromised nerve and muscle tissue.

 

Crush Injury, Compartment Syndrome, and Other Acute Traumatic Ischemias:  HBO increases tissue oxygen tension to levels that allow host responses to infections and ischemia to become functional. Effects include enhanced oxygenation at the tissue level, increased oxygen delivery per unit of blood flow and edema reduction.

 

Chronic Refractory Osteomyelitis:  Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy stimulates osteoclast formation and improves leukocyte function in infected bone tissue. It is used as an adjunct to antibiotics, debridement, nutritional support, and reconstructive surgery. In these most difficult to resolve infections, HBO can often save life or limb.

 

Radiation Tissue Damage:  Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy is the Gold Standard of Care in reconstructive surgery involving radiated bone or soft tissue. In proper coordination with surgical treatment, HBO has reoriented the approach to the repair of radiation-damaged tissue. It has been shown to stimulate growth of functioning capillaries, fibroblastic proliferation, and collagen synthesis in the irradiated bone and soft tissue.

Ulcers:  Chronic ulcers may result from a lack of blood supply to an extremity due to diabetes, arteriosclerosis and vascular diseases. Conventional medical practice may recommend amputation in cases where HBOT could preserve the limb. Venous stasis ulcers caused by lack of blood return from the extremity can also respond favorable to HBOT, even though they may have persisted for decades despite surgical intervention.

Decubiti:  Decubiti, or bedsores, are a major problem in senior or bedridden patients, which can lead to bone erosion. HBOT helps to relieve decubiti and minimize hospitalization.

Sports Injuries:  As many of us know, even

the most casual of athletes and sports enthusiasts can experience injuries. Via HBOT, additional oxygen reaches damaged bone tissue, and helps to speed the body's natural healing process reducing recovery times for various soft-tissue injuries and bone fractures. The effectiveness of HBOT in this area has been well documented; in fact, at least twelve professional NBA, NHL, and NFL teams currently own or lease HBOT chambers for treating their players.

 

 

Cerebral Palsy

 

 

More than 500,000 Americans have Cerebral Palsy (CP). There are more than 4,500 new cases of CP each year. The term cerebral palsy is not a diagnosis, but a term that is used to describe a group of chronic disorders—specifically, motor disorders—which impair the control of movement. These disorders usually appear in the first few years of life.

 

Cerebral Palsy results from hypoxic (low oxygen) injury at birth. Motor skills and speech frequently improve with Hyperbaric Oxygen treatment.

 

Hyperbaric Oxygen restores brain function by:

 

Restoring oxygen to deprived areas of the brain.

 

Reviving living, but nonfunctioning brain tissue.

 

Creating new blood vessels in the brain.

 

HBO, oxygen under pressure, is able to stimulate the growth of new blood vessels, which are then able to deliver the blood and fire up function in the areas of the brain that have been deprived of oxygen. This effect can be seen years after the occurrence of the initial damage.

 

For Cerebral Palsy, treatment is administered at 1.5 ATA – equal to 16.5 feet below sea level. Patients on average receive 20 – 80 treatments. Treatments are given daily and last about an hour. There is minimal risk involved.

 

Risks

As with any medical procedure, the evaluation and understanding of the patient’s current health status is of prime importance.

 

Minor ear discomfort is the most common complaint related to HBO therapy. It is helpful to remember that the initial stage of each HBO treatment is similar to sitting in an airplane as it descends. The patient's ears have to adjust to a change in air pressure.

 

There is no evidence that other potential problems associated with much deeper depths are a concern at the relatively low pressures attained during HBO therapy for cerebral palsy patients (1.5 ATA or 16.5 feet below sea level).