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A new study just published on Feb 2011 in the journal of cancer makes a strong argument for applying hyperbaric oxygenation therapy (HBOT) for those patients who have had either surgery or radiation therapy for brain tumors. The study followed patients who had been treated with HBOT and there was a marked improvement in cognitive [...]

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New study–Hyperbaric oxygen therapy for Femoral Head Necrosis

Tuesday, August 3rd, 2010

The University of South Florida has just shown us that the application of HBOT caused significant pain relief in just 20 treatments. In addition, range of motion was also significantly improved; the difference being that 20 to 30 sessions were needed to obtain this positive response.  This study was a double-blind randomized, controlled, prospective study and the positive results were confirmed by MRI reports. More importantly, the 7 year follow up revealed that all patients remained substantially pain and none required hip arthroplasty.

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Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Helps Heal a 13-year old Diabetic Wound Sufferer

Tuesday, August 3rd, 2010

Health Check: Wound center

Health Check: Wound Care Center (Added: July 22, 2010)

A woman reaps the benefits of a new wound care center at Charlton Memorial Hospital.

By Barbara Morse Silva
Published: July 22, 2010

FALL RIVER, Mass. –

Mary Coutinho has been living with diabetes for 30 years.

It’s what led her to the Southcoast Wound Care Center at Charlton Memorial Hospital.

But not before suffering for years.

Coutinho had open wounds on her feet that wouldn’t heal, a result of her diabetes.  It led to the amputation of two of her toes on her right foot.  She was facing the same fate with a recurring wound on her other foot.

“It was beginning to be crucial because in January I was hospitalized for about eight days because it had festered,” Coutinho said.  “And at that point I knew that if I didn’t have another alternative, they were going to have to cut it off.”

For Coutinho, a wedding photographer, it would have ended her career.

“There were a lot of things in jeopardy.  I was even thinking of selling my home for a single-level home because the stairs were quite an issue,” she said.

“(Coutinho) happened to be here just when we were having our hyperbaric oxygen unit open.  So for her, this was the missing link,” said Dr. Gerald Monchik, director of the Southcoast Wound Center.

A hyperbaric unit is part of the hospital’s new wound care centerCoutinho was one of the first patients in the center.

“What the hyperbaric oxygen chamber does is when you’re inside of the chamber, you’re breathing 100 percent oxygen under two atmospheres of pressure.  That oxygen in the blood then can get places where the red blood cells can’t get,” Monchik said.

And, in Coutinho’s case, help heal a wound that hadn’t healed in 13 years.

However, it took time — 40 treatments at two hours a treatment.

“It was long sometimes, but the movies helped.  It wasn’t uncomfortable at all,” Coutinho said.

Coutinho’s wound, which she said was the size of a quarter and as deep as four quarters, is now completely healed.

The hospital’s new center is not just about hyperbaric medicine.

“We have a team approach that’s not possible in a single office.  So we have general surgery.  We have vascular surgery, we have plastic surgery here and available.  And also when we need testing and we need a consultant, a consultant can come to the wound care center,” Monchik said.

HBOT Provides Dramatic Improvements for Cosmetic Surgeons

Sunday, May 9th, 2010

Cosmetic surgeons and oxygen therapy hyperbaric.

January 15, 2010

This is a “test”
Hyperbaric oxygen can: Help resolve unexpected complications post-surgery. Dramatically reduce post-surgical bruising, swelling, and inflammation. Speed up healing and recovery time from elective surgery. Important effects of post-surgical hyperbaric oxygen for your patients would be the stimulation of leukocyte microbial killing, the enhancement of fibroblast replication, and increased collagen formation and neovascularization of ischemic tissue. Hyperbaric oxygen is a safe way to alter the inflammatory process to help wound healing. It cuts down pain and swelling, inflammation in tissues, and it has an anti-bacterial effect. Patients who had this therapy in conjunction with their cosmetic surgery seem to have a shorter recuperation period. And scars have been shown to heal better with hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Cosmetic surgeons are recommending hyperbaric oxygen particularly for patients who have problems with healing. They may have been smokers, overweight, they may be immunity suppressed, or their incisions may have become infected, etc. The bruising goes away faster, swelling decreases faster, and the patients actually feel better overall. HBOT is known to be exceedingly effective for laser peels. After a laser peel, lingering redness is a problem for many patients. The chamber gets rid of the red more quickly. For liposuction, the chamber helps the swelling decrease much faster, which results in less post-operative discomfort. Normally, only red blood cells are fully saturated with oxygen molecules and the body consumes energy sending it to demanding cells. However, inside the hyperbaric oxygen chamber, oxygen obeys Henry’s Universal Gas Law and so the oxygen becomes soluble using passive diffusion to saturate the plasma and cerebrospinal fluid. Depending on the treatment depth, the patient will leave the chamber saturated with up to twenty times normal oxygen levels.

HBOT triggers many positive physiological events:

New tissue striving to fill the dead tissue wound space requires a 24 times oxidative burst. This intense competition for oxygen can cause inflammation and swelling. HBOT provides this additional oxygen.

HBOT sessions prior to surgery will eliminate the reperfusion phenomenon, reducing the chance of scar tissue forming. It also reduces inflamation and swelling.

Hypoxia in normally perfused tissue can unexpectedly occur post-surgically due to an inflammatory response and edema. HBOT corrects hypoxia and dramatically reduces inflammation and swelling.

HBOT increases fibroblast replication and collagen production. It also raises the RNA/DNA ratio in the tissues, indicating increased formation of rough endoplasmic reticulum of cells of the wounded area.

From Beverly Hills to New York City, more and more cosmetic surgeons are adding Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy to their protocol, routinely treating their Patients before and after surgery, sometimes offering hyperbaric facilities in the offices of their rights

Study–Rationale for HBOT During Abdominal Surgery

Friday, April 18th, 2008

Effect of hyperbaric oxygen therapy on patients with adhesive intestinal

obstruction associated with abdominal surgery who have failed to

respond to more than 7 days of conservative treatment.

Hepatogastroenterology. 2008 Mar-Apr

Ambiru S, Furuyama N, Kimura F, Shimizu H, Yoshidome H, Miyazaki M, Ochiai T.

Surgical Center, Chiba University Hospital, 1-8-1 Inohana, Chuo-ku, Chiba 260-8677, Japan. ambiru-s@umin.ac.jp

BACKGROUND/AIMS: To investigate the effects of hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy on patients with adhesive intestinal obstruction who have failed to respond to more than 7 days of conservative treatment. METHODOLOGY: Six hundred eighty-five patients, who were admitted a total of 879 times for adhesive intestinal obstruction, were divided into groups according to the treatment and interval between the first day of the therapy and clinical symptoms of obstruction; tube decompression therapy within 7 days after appearance of clinical symptoms (Group I: n = 321), clinical symptoms that have persisted for less than 7 days before the start of HBO therapy (Group II: n = 498), and for more than 7 days (Group III: n = 60). RESULTS: The overall resolution and mortality rates in the cases of adhesive intestinal obstruction were 79.8% and 2.2% in Group I, 85.9% and 1.4% in Group II, and 81.7% and 1.6% in Group III, respectively. Group II had significantly better resolution rates than Group I (odds ratio 1.6, p < 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: HBO therapy may be useful in management of adhesive intestinal obstruction associated with abdominal surgery, even in patients who fail to respond to other conservative treatments. HBO therapy may be a preferred option for treatment of patients for whom surgery should be avoided

New Hyperbaric Center Opens with Focus on Chronic Health Conditions

Monday, March 31st, 2008

Hyperbaric therapy coming to Austin

Monday, March 31, 2008

Someday soon, Haelen Hyperbarics will reach across the nation and its hyperbaric oxygen therapy will be an everyday part of the nation’s health care, if the management’s vision comes true.  The Hilton Head Island, S.C.-based company already has its hyperbaric chambers set up at two island health-care centers. The company plans to open centers in Austin; Raleigh, N.C.; West Palm Beach, Fla.; Savannah, Ga.; and Memphis, Tenn., by the end of the year, said Andrew Kolb, company president.  A hyperbaric chamber is an airtight chamber that patients lie in for about an hour, breathing pure oxygen in a pressurized atmosphere. The extra oxygen helps speed recovery on everything from broken bones to neurological disorders, Kolb said.  Hospitals also have the chambers, but they are used typically for only a few things covered by insurance, such as wound recovery or tissue damage from radiation. At Haelen’s Hilton Head locations, services are elective, meaning they’re not covered by insurance and patients pay out of pocket. Popular reasons for using the facilities include treatment for chronic pain from conditions including rheumatoid arthritis, sports injuries and recovery from cosmetic surgery, Kolb said.

Study–Hyperbaric oxygen for Elbow Surgery

Thursday, August 16th, 2007

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy facilitates surgery on complex open elbow injuries: preliminary results.

J Shoulder Elbow Surg. 2007 Jul-Aug;16(4):454-60. Epub 2007 May 15.

Huang KC, Tsai YH, Hsu RW.

Hyperbaric Medicine Center, Pu-Tz City, Taiwan. kc2672@adm.cgmh.org.tw

Complex open elbow injuries present a significant challenge to orthopaedic surgeons because of the poor potential for achieving a good functional level, even given good anatomic realignment. Associated massive soft-tissue damage impedes surgical fixation, delays rehabilitation, and therefore, further deteriorates the functional outcome. We studied a prospective, consecutive series of 16 patients with complex open elbow injuries who were treated with a combination of treatment modalities including early bony stabilization, debridement of soft tissue, and early coverage. The treatment protocol also used hyperbaric oxygen therapy to facilitate immediate internal fixation. The median value of the Mangled Extremity Severity Score was 5.5 (range, 3-10). Successful reconstruction was achieved in all 16 patients. No deep infection occurred, but there were 3 self-limited superficial infections. The average elbow functional result at 12 months after surgery, based on the Mayo score system, was good (mean value, 80.9; range, 55-100). Of the patients, 75% achieved satisfactory functional results for the elbow. The results of this study demonstrate that the studied treatment protocol provides a promising alternative for managing these complex open elbow injuries.

Study–Importance of HBOT during ACL Reconstructive Surgery

Wednesday, May 16th, 2007

Effects of hyperbaric oxygen treatment on tendon graft and tendon-bone integration in bone tunnel: biochemical and histological analysis in rabbits.

J Orthop Res. 2007 May;25(5):636-45.

Yeh WL, Lin SS, Yuan LJ, Lee KF, Lee MY, Ueng SW.

Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Center, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, 5, Fu-Hsin St. 333, Kweishan, Taoyuan, Taiwan. wenneng@adm.cgmh.org.tw

Despite moderate success in clinical applications, outcome of tendon grafts employed for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction remains unsatisfactory. This study investigated the effects of hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) on neovascularization at the tendon-bone junction, collagen fibers of the tendon graft, and the tendon graft-bony interface incorporated into the osseous tunnel in rabbits. Forty rabbits were assigned to two groups. The HBO group was exposed to 100% oxygen at 2.5 atmospheres pressure for 2 h daily, 5 consecutive days in a week. The control group was maintained in cages exposed to normal air. Histological studies of 12 rabbits were performed postoperatively at 6, 12, and 18 weeks. Biomechanical studies of 24 rabbits were conducted postoperatively at 12 and 18 weeks. Electron microscopy (EM) analyses of four rabbits were performed postoperatively at 18 weeks. Experimental results demonstrated that a higher number of Sharpey’s fibers bridged the newly formed fibrocartilage and graft in the HBO group than in the control group. In addition, HBO treatment increased neovascularization and enhanced the incorporation of the progressive interface between tendon graft and bone. Biomechanical analysis showed that the HBO group achieved higher maximal pullout strength than the control group. Examination by EM showed that HBO treatment resulted in regenerated collagen fibers with increased compaction and regularity. Based on experimental results, HBO treatment is a treatment modality that potentially improves outcome following ACL reconstruction. (c) 2007 Orthopaedic Research Society.

Role of HBOT for Post-Operative Infections

Wednesday, May 16th, 2007

Role of hyperbaric oxygen therapy in the treatment of postoperative organ/space sternal surgical site infections

World J Surg. 2007 Aug;31(8):1702-6.

Barili F, Polvani G, Topkara VK, Dainese L, Cheema FH, Roberto M, Naliato M, Parolari A, Alamanni F, Biglioli P.

Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, University of Milan, Centro Cardiologico Monzino IRCCS, Via Parea 4, 20138, Milan, Italy. fabarili@libero.it

BACKGROUND: A prospective trial was designed to evaluate the effect of hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy on organ/space sternal surgical site infections (SSIs) following cardiac surgery that requires sternotomy. METHODS: A total of 32 patients who developed postoperative organ/space sternal SSI were enrolled in this study from 1999 through 2005. All patients were offered HBO therapy. Group 1 included the patients who accepted and were able to undergo HBO therapy (n = 14); group 2 included patients who refused HBO therapy or had contraindications to it (n = 18). RESULTS: The two groups were well matched at baseline with comparable preoperative clinical characteristics and operative factors. Staphylococcus was the most common pathogen for both groups. The duration of infection was similar in groups 1 and 2 (31.8 7.6 vs. 29.3 5.7 days, respectively, p = 0.357). The infection relapse rate was significantly lower in group 1 (0% vs. 33.3%, p = 0.024). Moreover, the duration of intravenous antibiotic use (47.8 +/- 7.4 vs. 67.6 +/- 25.1 days, p = 0.036) and total hospital stay (52.6 +/- 9.1 vs. 73.6 +/- 24.5 days, p = 0.026) were both significantly shorter in group 1. CONCLUSION: Hyperbaric oxygen is a valuable addition to the armamentarium available to physicians for treating postoperative organ/space sternal SSI

Successful penile replantation with adjuvant HBOT

Wednesday, May 16th, 2007

Successful penile replantation with adjuvant hyperbaric oxygen treatment

Urology. 2007 May;69(5):983.e3-5.

Zhong Z, Dong Z, Lu Q, Li Y, Lv C, Zhu X, Zhao X, Zhang X, Morales F, Ichim TE.

Department of Urology, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, China. zhaohui_zhong@yahoo.com

Penile amputation and successful replantation is very uncommon, and routine standardized procedures for dealing with this medical condition do not exist. A case of a penile amputation and successful replantation is presented. This report presents the microsurgical procedure and postop. care that led to successful engraftment and function. Of particular interest was the use of hyperbaric oxygen to accelerate the healing process. A review of the published data and future methods of increasing success of such surgical procedures is provided

Hyperbaric oxygenation in peripheral nerve repair and regeneration

Friday, March 16th, 2007

Hyperbaric oxygenation in peripheral nerve repair and regeneration

Neurol Res. 2007 Mar;29(2):184-98.

Sanchez EC.

Hyperbaric Medicine Department, Hospital Angeles del Pedregal, Mexico, DF, Mexico. crosati@medovate.com

Peripheral nerves are essential connections between the central nervous system and muscles, autonomic structures and sensory organs. Their injury is one of the major causes for severe and longstanding impairment in limb function. Acute peripheral nerve lesion has an important inflammatory component and is considered as ischemia-reperfusion (IR) injury. Surgical repair has been the standard of care in peripheral nerve lesion. It has reached optimal technical development but the end results still remain unpredictable and complete functional recovery is rare. Nevertheless, nerve repair is not primarily a mechanical problem and microsurgery is not the only key to success. Lately, there have been efforts to develop alternatives to nerve graft. Work has been carried out in basal lamina scaffolds, biologic and non-biologic structures in combination with neurotrophic factors and/or Schwann cells, tissues, immunosuppressive agents, growth factors, cell transplantation, principles of artificial sensory function, gene technology, gangliosides, implantation of microchips, hormones, electromagnetic fields and hyperbaric oxygenation (HBO). HBO appears to be a beneficial adjunctive treatment for surgical repair in the acute peripheral nerve lesion, when used at lower pressures and in a timely fashion (<6 hours).