DIVING FOR A CURE By Hattie J. Horn Nikki Farkas lay on the small, narrow bed as it slid into the 7-foot-long, glass case. The door closed over her head and she heard a click. She adjusted her oxygen mask for optimal inhalation, moved a bottle of water closer and settled in to watch CNN on the small, flat panel TV mounted above her head. For the next two hours, she caught up on the day’s current news events.
sea divers and later astronauts suffering from decompression sickness, commonly known as “the bends.” HBOT is now used to treat patients who suffer from chronic wounds such as gangrene, vascular disease and radiation injuries, like Farkas who underwent several weeks of radiation therapy for cervical cancer earlier this year.
Program medical director Dr. Boutros Kahla says one of the most persistent and common wounds he sees is the lower extremity ulcer, particularly in the feet of diabetic patients. “An underlying problem for diabetics is that the disease affects blood supply to the extremities,” he said. “They have what is called small artery disease, which affects the eyes-vision and toes. Decreased blood flow to the feet creates dry skin, flaking and cracking, which leads to infection and ulceration.”
Other candidates for this therapy A 71-year-old mother of seven, grandinclude patients whose wounds mother of 10 and great-grandmother are unusual in appearance and are of one, Farkas wasn’t visiting a space30 days old or older; or those who age exhibit at the Johnson Space have wounds that don’t show signifiSometimes diabetic patients also Center in Houston. She was minutes cant progress or response to convenhave neuropathy, a complication of away from her Baytown home, at tional therapies. diabetes that damages the San Jacinto Methodist nerves, eliminates normal Hospital, where she sensation and causes paunderwent hyperbaric tients to develop wounds. oxygen therapy through the hospital’s Wound uses high pressure oxygen to heal. Each session Once a wound is diagand Hyperbaric Treatlasts approximately two hours. HBOT is a medical nosed, a strict regimen ment Program. is incorporated into the treatment that increases the amount of oxygen in the patient’s daily life that The program, which patient’s blood, allowing oxygen to pass more easily includes inspecting feet offers a comprehensive, through the plasma into the wounds to heal them. regularly; bathing and multidisciplinary apcaring for toenails, corns proach to heal complex Clinically approved uses for HBOT include: and calluses; even chooswounds, is the only one • Diabetic Foot Ulcers ing shoes and socks; and of its kind in the Hous• Compromised Skin Grafts/Flaps/Replants taking steps to improve ton area and one of only • Necrotizing Soft Tissue Infections circulation. 10 in Texas. • Thermal Burns
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy or HBOT has been in existence as far back as 1662, but it wasn’t used medically until the U.S. military developed and tested it after World War I. It has been used safely since the 1930s to treat deep-
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Radiation Tissue Damage Air or Gas Embolism Problem Wounds Refractory Osteomyelitis Crush Injury/Other Acute Traumatic Ischemias Clostridial Myonecrosis (Gas Gangrene) Exceptional Blood Loss Anemia
For more information, call the San Jacinto Methodist Hospital Wound Care & Hyperbaric Medicine Program at 281-425-2160.
How HBOT works Patients who have a persistent ulcer that does not respond to routine treatment can be referred to the program by their primary care physician. Wound care physicians assess the patient and determine the most effective
