Disease States

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy and Wound Healing

Without question, one of the most widely recognized applications of hyperbaric oxygen has been in the area of wound healing. Over the past 30 years, hundreds of scientific articles have been published describing profound enhancement in healing of a variety of problematic wounds with hyperbaric oxygen therapy. These conditions include decubitous ulcers, venous stasis ulcers, arterial insufficiency ulcers, burns, crush injuries, severed limbs, non-healing bone fractures, diabetic foot ulcers, brown recluse spider bites, poorly healing skin grafts, and osteoradionecrosis (bone damage as a result of excessive radiation exposure). The mechanisms by which HBOT enhances healing include:

• Hyperoxygenation — increases tissue levels of oxygen
• Neovascularization — enhances growth of new blood vessels
• Antimicrobial effect — destroys harmful bacteria
• Leukocyte activation — enhances ability of white blood cell to remove bacteria and debris
• Fibrolastic proliferation — increases growth of cells which form reparative tissue.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy can be an important adjunct in a comprehensive wound healing program utilized in conjunction with other modalities including surgical, medical, and physiotherapeutic techniques.