Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) has been providing significant results for patients healing from failed flap surgery or skin grafts. Particularly concerning patients whose tissue has been irradiated, HBOT can heal burned tissue, reverse scarring, and increase tissue viability.
What Is Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy?
HBOT, or hyperbaric oxygen therapy, is a treatment during which patients relax in a chamber where they breathe 100% oxygen under increased pressure. The chamber is pressurized with 100% oxygen so they don’t have to wear a mask or hood. Patients won’t feel anything unusual, except for the first and last 5-7 minutes, they will feel the need to pop their ears to equalize the change in pressure (like landing in an airplane). HBOT causes the body to take in about 15 times more oxygen which reduces inflammation and speeds tissue repair, resulting in multiple benefits to the patient.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy promotes angiogenesis, or the formation of blood vessels. This has been proven to be a fantastic treatment for injuries and post-surgical healing.
Skin Graft Recovery with Oxygen Therapy
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is very therapeutic for patients who have had skin grafts.
What are skin grafts? Skin grafts are skin replacements where a wound or surgical repair has occurred. The replacement skin is taken from a donor or another part of the body. Skin grafts are relatively standard in surgical procedures, and they can serve as temporary or permanent bandages for wounds that need protection.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) has been proven to significantly decrease recovery time for individuals with skin grafts. How does this work? When oxygen is rapidly delivered to the body’s cells, recovery and healing are also accelerated. HBOT creates an environment in which rapid cell regeneration occurs.
HBOT for Tissue Repair in Flap Failures
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy has also been effective in the treatment of failed flap procedures. What are flap procedures? Flap surgery involves transporting healthy tissue from one part of the body to another. It is most commonly still attached at the source and stretched to the tissue that needs to be covered. The most standard form of flap surgery is breast reconstruction surgery for patients who have had a mastectomy. During this procedure, a muscle from the back or a muscle from the abdomen is cut and pulled to the chest area to reconstruct a new breast.
HBOT is very effective in promoting rapid recovery from flap procedures. It is most often used for procedures in which the flap has failed, which means that the tissue has poor blood flow or a weakened blood supply. Through HBOT, angiogenesis helps the body form new blood vessels very quickly and blood supply is restored to the tissue in need of better circulation.
Baromedical Associates
When you are ready to accelerate healing in your body in the most nurturing environment possible, it may be time to contact Baromedical Associates. As the industry-leading experts in our field, we are happy to provide the healing touch you need in hyperbaric oxygen therapy. For more information, contact us to request an appointment.
Sources:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK470219/
https://www.baromedicalhbo.com/conditions/failed-flaps-and-skin-grafts/
