HBOT can assist in healing chronic and non-healing wounds by stimulating new small blood vessel formation in tissues with low capillary density and encouraging release of growth factors and stem cells that encourage healing.
Treatment sessions last approximately two hours. You lie comfortably inside a pressurized chamber called a monoplace for this process.
Frequency of Treatments
For patients to experience all the advantages of hyperbaric oxygen therapy, it is crucial that they attend sessions as often as recommended by their physician. This will depend on your condition being treated and may differ from case to case.
An average HBOT session typically lasts 1.5 hours. Prior to beginning, you will be fitted for a comfortable hood for optimal seal and assisted into the chamber by an attendant who will also assist with answering any of your questions about it. Be sure to notify staff if you experience cold or flu symptoms, difficulty clearing your ears, cotton clothing is best as certain fabrics create static electricity in the chamber, dentures should be taken off, contact lenses must be removed prior to entering, smoking is discouraged as part of this treatment and smoking cessation is necessary in order for it.
As part of your treatment, you’ll relax comfortably in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber and listen to music, watch TV, or nap. While some individuals may experience pressure in their ears during treatment – which is normal and can be addressed similar to when flying or driving – others may hear crackling noises due to changes in pressure being detected by their eardrums.
HBOT can promote new blood vessel formation in tissues with low capillary density, such as diabetic foot ulcers or wounds that have not healed after surgery. Furthermore, it assists the body’s defenses against infections by speeding the delivery of antibiotics directly to infected areas and encouraging phagocytosis – where damaged cells are eaten away by immune cells in your body – phagocytosis being an internal process that breaks down damaged cells by devouring them! HBOT may also aid skin grafts/flaps by giving an extra source of oxygen that makes healing quicker for these tissues to heal more efficiently.
HBOT promotes the release of growth factors and stem cells to stimulate healing in injured tissues, making it effective at treating chronic wounds that do not heal as well as bone infections such as refractory osteomyelitis (bone infection). Furthermore, this therapy has also shown promise in treating carbon monoxide poisoning; air bubbles in the blood stream; soft tissue injuries related to radiation therapy treatments on prostate, bladder, colon, lung ovaries after cancer treatments as well as soft tissue injuries from radiation injuries in these areas.
Duration of Treatments
Your number of HBOT treatments depends on the medical condition for which you seek therapy. Conditions like carbon monoxide poisoning or decompression sickness typically only need one or two sessions; while chronic wounds or arterial insufficiency could require up to 40-50 treatments of hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Penn’s Hyperbaric Medicine team will customize a plan based on your diagnosis and recommended protocol.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy entails lying inside a pressurized chamber while breathing 100 percent pure oxygen (natural air contains only 21 percent). Depending on the nature of your illness or injury, we may advise one to four treatments daily, each lasting around two hours; we’ll go over your scheduled plan prior to starting this therapy.
Your experience in the chamber should be painless. Before beginning treatment, you’ll be asked to change into a cotton gown (to reduce static electricity) and take off any jewelry or personal items that might cause static electricity build-up. Lockers are available so your clothing and belongings won’t get in the way.
Once inside the chamber, we’ll seal it and start filling it with oxygen at an increased pressure than normal. The increased pressure isn’t uncomfortable – rather, it allows more oxygen to reach damaged tissues more effectively. You might experience a slight feeling in your ears as the pressure fluctuates, similar to when flying or driving over high mountains. HBOT may occasionally cause temporary changes in vision; these issues usually disappear shortly after treatment is finished.
Once treatment has concluded, we’ll gradually lower the chamber pressure until it returns to normal and you are free to leave and resume normal activities.
As long as it meets our doctors’ orders, it is generally wise to continue your regular diet and medications during hyperbaric oxygen therapy sessions; however, you should avoid drinking alcohol and smoking since this will inhibit new blood vessel formation. Incorporating wound care practices and general health maintenance practices also contributes to optimizing results from hyperbaric oxygen therapy sessions.
Dosage of Oxygen
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is like taking in an extra deep breath of air, used to treat many different medical conditions that affect blood, tissues, and bones by providing pure oxygen in an atmosphere pressurized 2.5 times above the normal pressure in an oxygen chamber. The extra oxygen allows lungs and other cells to absorb more of it as well as stimulating growth factors and stem cells production that can aid the healing process within your body.
Treatment typically lasts approximately two hours, and may need to be repeated over multiple days or weeks depending on your condition. We will work closely with you to identify an ideal number of weekly treatments tailored specifically to you and your specific needs.
An important benefit of angiogenesis therapy is creating new blood vessels in tissue with poor capillary density, such as diabetic feet or parts exposed to radiation treatment during cancer therapy, thus increasing oxygen delivery to that tissue and potentially saving limbs or organs from being amputated.
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy can also assist your body in combatting bacteria. By increasing antibiotics’ efficacy and stimulating white blood cells to kill more germs than they would without HBOT, Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy becomes especially useful in cases of refractory osteomyelitis (bone infections resistant to antibiotic treatment).
Ozone produced in the chamber has another advantage – it can destroy bacteria, fungi and other microorganisms by attacking their cell membranes; additionally it may help neutralise some toxins or inflammatory agents present in your body.
Finally, laser therapy can aid skin grafts and flaps by stimulating new tissue formation where old tissue has become scarred or damaged – this can help with chronic wounds such as bed sores or leg ulcers.
Before your treatment starts, we ask you to change into a cotton gown as certain materials can generate static electricity in our clear acrylic chamber. Once inside, there is an unobstructed view and communication with a staff member via intercom system. Feel free to use this time for listening to music, watching television, napping or relaxing by listening to audio/video tracks during treatment; or if claustrophobia arises you can seek medication from your physician to help alleviate symptoms.
Preparation for Treatment
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy treatments involve lying on a table that slides into a chamber. At times during treatment, you may feel as if your ears are full – similar to flying an airplane or driving in mountains – due to changing pressures within the hyperbaric oxygen chamber and it should subside. You will be shown techniques for clearing your ears to alleviate this symptom before beginning treatments.
Your otolaryngologist or primary care physician will determine how many HBO treatments you need to address your condition. In general, multiple daily HBOT sessions are necessary in order to see significant healing results – typically 30-40 treatments over several weeks or months are typically required to achieve this effect. Our team can work with you in designing the ideal schedule tailored specifically to you!
A session typically lasts 90-120 minutes and you will remain comfortable throughout. The hyperbaric oxygen chamber comes equipped with TV and CD/DVD player so you can watch or listen to whatever content you wish. Books may also be brought into the chamber; however, most patients prefer using this time for relaxation and restful recovery.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy usually doesn’t cause side effects for most patients, though it is important to notify your physician of any medications you are taking – specifically antibiotics, antidepressants and any medication which alters gas balance within your body such as supplements.
Tell your doctor if you have an implanted pacemaker or any other implanted device because hyperbaric oxygen therapy can alter their electrical activity and potentially alter their function. Furthermore, smoking reduces its efficacy as it decreases new blood vessel formation thereby diminishing effectiveness of hyperbaric oxygen therapy.
Penn Medicine’s hyperbaric oxygen therapy staff is specially trained to maximize its benefits. They will discuss how best to prepare for treatment, such as potential insurance coverage issues. Furthermore, they’ll show how best to combine HBOT with appropriate wound care and nutrition, in order to get maximum benefits out of each session. Lastly, they’ll outline any potential side effects and how best to mitigate or avoid them.
