Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy

Without adequate oxygen, normal healing cannot take place. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is an option for chronic wounds.

Patients receive 100 percent oxygen under pressure in a clear, pressurized chamber. The air pressure inside a hyperbaric oxygen chamber is about two and a half times greater than the normal pressure in the atmosphere. This “hyperbaric” (or high pressure) dose of oxygen helps your blood carry more oxygen to organs and connective tissues to promote wound healing. It also activates the white blood cells to fight infection.

HBO can be the primary treatment or it can be used in combination with other treatments. HBO is a particularly effective treatment for healing:

• Diabetic wounds that are slow-to-heal or are not healing
• Skin damage or open sores caused by radiation treatment, possibly even from many years ago, now causing the skin and tissue to “breakdown”
• Skin grafts or surgical flaps that are not healing post-surgery
• Internal ‘injury’ where no open wound exists, such as a bone infection (osteomyelitis)
• Crush injuries from an industrial, heavy machinery or car accident 
• Damage to internal tissue or bone that causes pain or discomfort as a result from radiation therapy

If you or a loved one has a wound or a sore that has not started to heal within a month or has not healed entirely in two months, we can help.