Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy
Sometimes wounds will not respond to general wound care treatments alone. For some patients, Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBO) is needed for complete healing. HBO is a treatment in which the patient breathes 100% oxygen inside a pressurized chamber. The treatment quickly sends high concentrations of oxygen to the bloodstream to heal wounds and fight infections.
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy also stimulates the growth of new blood vessels and improves blood circulation.
What Conditions Can Benefit From Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy?
- Diabetic ulcers of the lower legs, ankles, and feet
- Post-radiation tissue injury
- Osteomyelitis (inflammatory bone disease)
- Crush injuries
- Failing skin grafts and flaps
- Necrotizing soft tissue (dying tissue) infections
Our hyperbaric oxygen chambers are comfortable and see-through. A patient can watch television or listen to music during treatments. The number of treatments you receive will depend on your diagnosis.
Patient Testimony
“They gave me my life back.”
Patient finds healing at Methodist Center for Wound Care and Hyperbaric Medicine
Walking through a garden. Playing with your kids. Dancing at a family wedding. Many of us take these simple pleasures for granted. Not Jeff Albright.
Jeff’s skin is fragile due to past varicose vein surgery. Any small “bump” against an object can produce a wound. And although his leukemia is in remission, it has weakened his immune system, making wounds more difficult to heal.
In February 2009, Jeff struck the top of his left foot against a piece of furniture. The resulting wound first appeared as a small knick, but soon expanded. He went to a local hospital for treatment, but the open wound worsened. So did the pain.
“I am normally very active, but walking even a short distance would cause me severe pain,” says Jeff, age 41. “Every time I went to the grocery store, I had to find an electric cart. When the nurses at the other place asked me to rate my pain on a scale of zero to 10, I answered, ‘13’.”
When Jeff’s wound grew to the size of a nickel in May, his girlfriend Tricia Fuller sought help from the Methodist Center for Wound Care and Hyperbaric Medicine. She recalls, “From day one, the doctor, nurses, and technicians listened to us. At each visit, they re-evaluated Jeff’s treatment and helped to control his pain. The team was competent, compassionate, and friendly.”
Jeff’s quality of life improved quickly. “The night before my second visit to the Methodist Wound Center, we went to our first Peoria Chiefs ballgame of the season. After months of having to just sit because of the pain, I walked around the entire baseball stadium.”
After six weeks of treatment, Jeff’s open wound was completely healed. “In July, we went to the Indianapolis Speedway for the first time to see the Brickyard 400,” Jeff says with a big grin. “The place is huge! The trams that transport people from the parking lot to the 2.5-mile oval track weren’t working on Saturday, so we walked.
“On Sunday, we passed by Jimmie Johnson, car #48, and Dale Jr., car #88, as they were getting their cars prepped for the race. And later I got to see Jimmie, my favorite driver, win! There is no way I could have done even 1% of the walking I did that weekend if I hadn’t come to Methodist.”
As summer progressed, Jeff reveled in squirt gun fights with Tricia, 14-year-old daughter Kalee, and 9-year-old son Mason. “They gave me my life back,” says Jeff, with tears in his eyes. “When you’re limited in what you can do in life due to severe pain—and then that pain goes away—you can enjoy life again.”
For more information on the Methodist Center for Wound Care and Hyperbaric Medicine, call 672-4582.
Chat With Us