{"id":126472,"date":"2024-01-11T21:37:54","date_gmt":"2024-01-12T02:37:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=126472"},"modified":"2024-01-11T21:40:36","modified_gmt":"2024-01-12T02:40:36","slug":"photo-caption-hyperbaric-oxygen-therapy-patient-enters-specially-designed-chamber","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=126472","title":{"rendered":"Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Helps Cancer Patient"},"content":{"rendered":"

Photo caption: Hyperbaric oxygen therapy patient enters specially designed chamber.<\/em><\/p>\n

Richard Werner, 85, used to walk six miles every other day. He had to stop for a while to undergo cancer treatment, but now the octogenarian is walking four miles every other day, and he credits his care with St. Luke\u2019s to getting him back on his feet.<\/p>\n

In order to treat his cancer, Werner underwent radiation therapy, which was successful in terms of fighting the cancer, but left him with damaged salivary glands, explained his physician, Michael Hortner, M.D., certified wound specialist for St. Luke\u2019s Wound Management and Hyperbaric Centers. As a result of this damage, Werner had trouble eating and swallowing and lost a dangerous amount of weight.<\/p>\n

The soft tissue radiation injury, as it\u2019s called, made Werner a contender for\u00a0hyperbaric oxygen therapy<\/a>\u00a0treatment, for which St. Luke\u2019s has four locations with hyperbaric chambers.<\/p>\n

What is hyperbaric oxygen therapy?<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Under typical circumstances the air we breathe contains 21 percent oxygen, explains\u00a0Diedra McCafferty, D.O.<\/a>, wound care specialist, network medical director of St. Luke\u2019s Wound Management and Hyperbaric Medicine department. In simple terms, hyperbaric oxygen therapy delivers 100 percent oxygen to the body at a pressure greater than normal, thanks to a specially designed chamber.<\/p>\n

This has been shown to improve wound healing, largely because oxygen stimulates angiogenesis\u2014formation of new blood vessels\u2014and under pressure, that oxygen becomes more available in the body, McCafferty explains. This oxygen treatment can also increase the number of stem cells within the damaged tissue, which can differentiate and heal the injury.<\/p>\n

\u201cSpecifically for radiation damage, this tends to be extremely beneficial,\u201d McCafferty says, noting that radiation damage is one of the most common uses for hyperbaric oxygen therapy within the St. Luke\u2019s network.<\/p>\n

The benefits of hyperbaric oxygen therapy<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Werner received hyperbaric oxygen therapy for about three months, after he required a feeding tube to ensure he was consuming enough calories. The treatment helped repair the damaged tissue in his neck, bringing down the excessive swelling, and making it a bit easier to eat and drink.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe stopped [Werner\u2019s] therapy about a month ago because he was having a good response,\u201d Hortner, who will retire at the end of the year, says. \u201cHe was able to tolerate foods he couldn\u2019t take before and had been gaining weight.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hortner explains that even though Werner\u2019s hyperbaric oxygen therapy has ended, the beneficial effects continue.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust because you stop treatment doesn\u2019t mean you won\u2019t be able to get better from where you are,\u201d he says. \u201cWill [Werner] be back to normal? No. There\u2019s too much damage\u2026But the effects last for some time.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to treating soft tissue radiation injuries, hyperbaric oxygen therapy is widely used to treat wounds, particularly diabetic foot ulcers of a certain severity, and infectious processes, McCafferty says.<\/p>\n

The therapy can have antimicrobial benefits, making it effective in helping to treat infectious processes, including gas gangrene and other life-threatening acute conditions.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we catch it soon enough we can have an incredible turnaround [with hyperbaric oxygen therapy],\u201d McCafferty says. \u201cThe whole point [of the treatment] is to minimize tissue loss.\u201d<\/p>\n

Who can use hyperbaric oxygen therapy?<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are very strict guidelines on what makes a person a candidate for hyperbaric oxygen therapy, which has been\u00a0approved by the FDA<\/a>\u00a0for several indications. There are also guidelines from the\u00a0Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society<\/a>, which the St. Luke\u2019s team follows closely.<\/p>\n

Some of these indications include:<\/p>\n