General Introduction
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy; It is a medical application in which 100% oxygen is given, and it is a treatment performed with pure oxygen 2-3 times the atmospheric pressure at sea level.
Conditions where wound healing is delayed (diabetic and non-diabetic), Sudden hearing loss, Sudden vision loss: Retinal artery occlusion, Brain abscess, Air or gas embolism, Thermal burns, Osteonecrosis and many other diseases have been reported as HBOT indications.
What is Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy?
The application of oxygen therapy under 2.5 ATA pressure in a closed environment is called hyperbaric oxygen therapy.
How does it help heal these diseases?
Research has shown that when 100% oxygen is inhaled under high pressure, the amount of oxygen in the clean blood going to the tissues increases up to 20 times. With the increase of oxygen pressure in the tissue;
Cells that cannot do their job due to lack of oxygen are supported,
The production of substances that provide new vessel development and wound healing increases.
It prevents the growth of bacteria that grow in an oxygen-free environment and reduces the effectiveness of some toxins released by them.
Supports cells responsible for the body’s defense
Has antiedema effect
It reduces the poisoning at the cell level in carbon dioxide poisonings.
How long does Hyperbaric Oxygen therapy take?
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is planned by the Hyperbaric Medicine Specialist according to the disease and the character of the disease. One session of the treatment applied in the form of sessions varies between 60-140 minutes. Patients are usually taken to a session once a day, but in some emergency diseases, it may be required to be applied 4 times a day with an interval of 6 hours. The total number of sessions also varies from patient to patient, a patient with the same diagnosis may recover in 20 sessions, while the other may recover in 60 sessions.
In Which Diseases Is It Applied?
Carbon monoxide, cyanide poisoning, acute smoke inhalation,
Stove, geyser poisoning
Conditions where wound healing is delayed (diabetic and non-diabetic),
thermal burns,
Chronic refractory osteomyelitis
sudden hearing loss,
Sudden loss of vision: Retinal artery occlusion
Crush injuries, compartment syndrome and other acute traumatic ischemias
decompression sickness,
air or gas embolism,
gas gangrene,
Necrotizing infections of soft tissue (subcutaneous, muscle, fascia),
excessive blood loss,
radiation necroses,
Skin flaps and grafts that are suspected to be involved,
brain abscess,
anoxic encephalopathy,
Acute osteomyelitis of skull bones, sternum and vertebrae
osteonecrosis
Who Cannot Enter Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy?
The only absolute contraindication is untreated pneumothorax. Relative contraindications are upper respiratory tract infection, pregnancy, epilepsy, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), surgery to the thorax.
Are There Any Side Effects of Hyperbaric Treatment?
The most common side effect encountered during the administration of hyperbaric oxygen therapy is middle ear barotrauma (pressure-related trauma). It occurs when enough air cannot be sent to the middle ear through the eustachian tube during pressure increase. We usually experience mild barotrauma and recovery occurs in 3-4 days without any damage. Less common effects due to pressure change are sinus barotrauma, dental barotrauma, and lung barotrauma. In some patients receiving long-term treatment, what we call transient myopia may occur, which resolves within a month after treatment. Oxygen toxicity is a rare side effect.