Hyperbaric Medicine - Largest Chamber in Northeast US
March 5, 2007. The shiny bronze vessel, door now closed for treatment, gleams like the space shuttle, as the nurse working inside communicates with the controllers while caring for the patients. The patients are comfortably seated and watching television while wearing clear, futuristic hoods. No, we are not at the NASA launch pad--we are in the Department of Hyperbaric Medicine at Phelps Memorial Hospital Center in Sleepy Hollow, NY.
“The chamber was designed to treat patients with hard to heal wounds, skin ulcers, radiation damage from cancer treatment, carbon monoxide poisoning, gas gangrene, as well as other indications” explains Owen J. O’Neill, MD, the Center’s Medical Director and specialist in hyperbaric medicine for over fifteen years. Dr. O’Neill prescribes an individualized treatment plan for each patient.
The Department of Hyperbaric Medicine at Phelps recently opened its doors to provide Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT), a medical treatment during which patients breathe pure oxygen while sitting inside a pressurized chamber. Seating 12 people, the hyperbaric chamber at Phelps is the largest in the northeastern United States.
The term “hyperbaric chamber” may bring to mind scuba divers suffering from “The Bends” (Decompression Sickness), but that is just one condition that can be treated with Hyperbaric Oxygen. Medical conditions treated with Hyperbaric Oxygen include carbon monoxide poisoning; cyanide poisoning, bone infections (chronic osteomyelitis), air embolism, compromised tissue flaps and skin grafts. Research is underway for use of HBOT therapy to treat many other conditions, including post-traumatic brain injury, stroke, and preventing radiation tissue damage to organs following this form of cancer treatment. The center was also chosen to be part of a research study for the New York State Department of Health, documenting the benefits of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy.
Those undergoing HBOT receive 100% oxygen in a pressurized environment. The chamber is capable of compression to six time’s normal atmospheric pressure. In combination with standard treatment protocols, Hyperbaric Oxygen contributes to optimal healing for patients.
Like other medical treatments, determining if a patient is a candidate to receive Hyperbaric Oxygen requires careful evaluation by a hyperbaric medicine specialist. Similar to other specialists, the hyperbaric physician communicates with the patient’s primary care physician and referring specialist throughout the treatment period.
Benefits of Hyperbaric Oxygen include improved oxygenation of wounds and damaged tissue, which promotes and accelerates the healing process. Hyperbaric Oxygen also stimulates white blood cells to fight infection, enhances the effects of some antibiotics, and promotes new blood vessel growth.
Patients receive one treatment daily, five days a week. Most patients require 20 to 30 treatments to complete their course of therapy. The exact number of treatments depends on the diagnosis and/or rate of recovery. An individual Hyperbaric Oxygen treatment has a duration of 90 minutes. During this time patients are seated in a comfortable chair and breathe 100% oxygen.
A nurse specially trained in hyperbaric procedures accompanies patients during the entire treatment. The hyperbaric physician oversees each treatment from either the control console or by actively participating in patient care inside of the chamber. Hyperbaric Oxygen treatments are covered by Medicare and third party insurance companies.