Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy in Orthopedic and plastic surgial
conditions
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO) has earned most of its acceptance and
successful reputation in orthopedic and plastic surgical
conditions. Almost any delayed surgical wound healing or
compromised grafting will have much higher chances of survival in
enriched oxygen tissue.
Adjunctive oxygen therapy is an effective treatment modality in many
orthopedic conditions. With careful candiddate selection HBO is limb-
sometimes lifesaving modality, reducing the lenght of the hospital
stay, amputation rte and wound care expenses
HBO is recognized today not only as successful adjunct therapy in the
management of: compartment syndrome; crush injury; skin grafts and
flaps; osteomyelitis; thermal burns, frost bites and threatened
re-plantations but also as a routine preventive measure. In
osteoradionecrosis prophylaxis HBO improves osseointegration
for 81% and survival of titanium implants and bone grafting after
radiation therapy. With HBO graft survival increases by 75 %
and post surgical complications are significantly reduced.
The benefit of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy in orthopedic
condition:
- Relief of hypoxia- HBO raises oxygen
transport to the ischemic tissue and improves cellular metabolism
- Reduces edema by vasoconstriction,
which in turn causes reapsorption of tissue fluids and increase of
microcirculation
- Relieves pain and stiffness by
improving local circulation
- Suppresses inflammation, improving
infection control and increasing the effect of antibiotic
- Strengthens the immune system
- Decreases fibrous tissue and scar
formation
- Enhances bone healing: improves the
osetoclast and osteoblast activity, improves bone mineralization and
bone density
- Enhances peripheral nerve regeneration
- Improves microcirculation by
neovascularization
- Improves post surgery recovery (by all
of the above)
Depending on the condition HBO sessions should be from 60 to 120
minutes long on a daily basis, once or twice daily, at a treatment
pressure from 2.0 to 2.4 ATA of pure oxygen in a mono-place flow thru
hyperbaric chamber. Number of treatments needed and the end
point of the therapy depend on the severity of the condition and can be
determined by Transcutaneous oxygen tension monitoring and Laser
Doppler blood flowmetry.
