State of the Art Treatment

At the Wound Healing Center you will receive the right treatment to heal your wound. Some of the following treatments may be included in your treatment plan:

• Hyperbaric oxygen therapy
• Wound dressings
• Wound debridement
• Bio-engineered tissue substitutes
• Platelet growth technologies

What is Hyperbaric Oxygen (HBO) Therapy?
HBO is a medical treatment that increases the amount of oxygen in the patient's blood, allowing oxygen to pass more easily through the plasma into the wounds to heal them. HBO chambers surround patients with 100% oxygen at higher than normal atmospheric pressure.

Who requires extra oxygen?
Usually, there is no benefit to increasing the level of oxygen in the body for normal, healthy individuals. People with certain medical conditions do, however, benefit from increased levels of oxygen.

How do I find out if HBO is for me?
If you have a wound that hasn't healed in four weeks, consult the Wound Healing Center. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy may be an appropriate part of the treatment plan. A physician at the Center will evaluate your wound and determine the best course of treatment.

Some potential candidates for HBO are people with diabetes who have wounds that are slow to heal, people with wounds that haven't shown improvement in four weeks, people with certain bone and skin infections, people with radiation injuries, and people with compromised or failing skin grafts or flaps.

Where do I go for treatments?
For treatment you will come to the Wound Healing Center, which is located in the Community Health and Rehabilitation Center on the hospital campus. Your therapy will be supervised by a specially-trained physician and monitored by a technician each day.

How long do HBO treatments take?
On average, treatment last about two hours. This includes the time to pressurize and depressurize the chamber plus 90 minutes at the prescribed treatment depth.

How many HBO treatments will I need?
The number of HBO treatments is not pre-set because each person responds differently to the therapy. The average number of treatments required to heal a patient with a problem wound is 20 to 60 treatments. How many times a day will I be treated? For most chronic wounds, HBO therapy each weekday is sufficient.

Is HBO therapy covered by insurance?
Medicare has approved coverage for HBO therapy for many types of chronic non-healing wounds. Most private insurance companies follow Medicare's guidelines as well. We will review your insurance plan with you before your therapy starts to make sure you know what your costs will be.

Is HBO therapy painful?
No, the only sensation you will experience is during the pressurization phase of the treatment. The slowly increasing pressure will push on your eardrums, similar to the experience when landing in an airplane or diving to the bottom of a swimming pool. The hyperbaric staff will instruct you about different methods of relieving this ear pressure.

Is HBO therapy dangerous?
No, the treatment is very safe. Your Wound Healing Center has very strict procedures that assure your safety and make your treatment comfortable. Before your first treatment, you will be given a thorough orientation.

What can I do during HBO therapy?
Each chamber is equipment with a TV so you may watch the TV or a movie. You may not bring anything into the chamber with you so unfortunately you are unable to read a book or a newspaper. Many patients simply use the time to catch up on some well-deserved rest.