Examples of Enhancing Treatment & Care with Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy: Intermittent Adjuvant HBOT For Delayed Wound Healing

A 12-year-old F/S Golden Retriever had a large, recurring low grade nerve sheath tumor removed from the right forepaw. Closure of the surgical wound was not possible due to the size and location of the mass. The clients expressed extreme financial concerns, so the wound was managed by bandage changes three times weekly with calcium alginate/saline dressings.

Two weeks later the patient was referred for evaluation of a necrotic wound.

The wound was debrided, bandaged with a dilute betadine dressing, and two outpatient HBOT sessions were given on successive days.  Bandage changes were continued, and two weeks later the dog returned as an outpatient.

The wound was debrided, bandaged with a dilute betadine dressing, and two outpatient HBOT sessions were given on successive days.  Bandage changes were continued, and two weeks later the dog returned as an outpatient.

This case illustrates that periodic HBOT can be employed with effectiveness in some cases where financial issues prohibit large numbers of sessions. The pulses of elevated reactive oxygen and nitrogen species act as signals to up-regulate wound healing mechanisms.  Theoretical concerns over the use of adjuvant HBOT in patients with concurrent neoplasia center on the enhanced vasculogenesis associated with this treatment modality.  In fact, HBOT is widely employed in human medicine in cancer patients with non-healing wounds, and studies in animals and humans do not support increased rate of tumor growth in these patients.

(Reference, Kindwall and Whelan, “Hyperbaric Medicine Practice”, Second Edition Revised, 2004, Best, pgs. 718-20)

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