Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy at North Mississippi Medical Center in Tupelo and Amory uses pressurized, pure oxygen to heal chronic wounds and burns.
Breathing Life into Healing
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is a medical treatment providing you with high quality pressure amounts of oxygen, which aids in the healing process of diseased or damaged tissues.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is received while comfortably lying in a specially designed pressurized chamber where you will breathe 100% oxygen. The benefit of hyperbaric oxygen therapy results from an oxygen enriched bloodstream—not from the oxygen’s direct contact with the wound. Benefits of treatment include:
Advanced wound healing
Improved infection control
Increased oxygen delivery to injured tissue
Elimination and reduced effects of toxic substances
Preservation of damaged tissue
Reduction or elimination of gas bubble obstructions
Greater blood vessel formation
You may benefit from hyperbaric oxygen therapy if you have:
Diabetic ulcers of the lower extremities
Necrotizine soft tissue infections
Crush injuries
Radiation injury
Skin grafts and flaps
Carbon monoxide poisoning
Chronic osteomyelitis (bone infection)
Acute peripheral arterial insufficiency
Decompression sickness
Traumatic peripheral ischemia
Burns
Air or gas embolism/gas gangrene
What to Expect
The treatment occurs while you lie comfortably inside the spacious chamber. You can sleep or watch television while undergoing the therapy.
The treatment is painless, although at times you may experience a sensation of “fullness” in the ears. Before starting treatment, our team will teach you how to relieve this pressure to avoid ear discomfort. A nurse remains with you during treatment and will adjust the rate of compression according to your tolerance level and coach you on relieving any discomfort.
The compression phase of the treatment, or the time when you are taken to your prescribed pressure level, usually lasts 10-15 minutes. The remainder of the treatment may last between 90 minutes to two hours.
Near the end of treatment, the pressure gradually decreases to the normal level. During the decompression phase, you may experience a “popping” sensation in your ears. This is a normal occurrence.
As with all medical treatment, hyperbaric oxygen therapy presents some risks, but these are quite rare and will be discussed with you before therapy.
The number of treatments will be based on your needs. Some emergency cases require a few treatments, while other wound healing situations may require 20-40 treatments where the healing effect is gradual. Hyperbaric treatment is generally administered once a day, five days a week.
Healogics® Open Doors Club
Healogics®, the nation’s largest provider of advanced wound care services, awarded this recognition to North Mississippi Medical Center Wound Center and Hyperbarics based on growth, patient access, performance management and leadership.
