Riverview Hospital Association, South Wood County and Wisconsin Rapids

What is hyperbaric oxygen therapy?

Breathing 100% oxygen at increased atmospheric pressure is a painless, proven way to help the body heal. Hyperbaric oxygen chambers work by surrounding the patient with 100 % oxygen at higher than normal atmospheric pressure in sessions, or dives, that last 90 minutes to two hours. This increases the amount of oxygen in the patient's blood allowing red blood cells to pass more easily through the plasma into the wounds to heal them from the inside out.

Introduced in the mid-'60s, HBO chambers have evolved to treat patients suffering from diabetic ulcers, pressure ulcers, infections, compromised skin grafts and flaps, and wounds that haven't healed within 30 days.

Weighing more than one ton each, the HBO chambers resemble a reclining bed encased in a clear acrylic shell nearly a yard in diameter. Patients can listen to music (bring your own) or watch movies on televisions and DVD players (you can bring your own movie if you’d like) mounted above the chamber while remaining in constant contact with those outside the chamber through an intercom and private handset. The only physical sensation resulting from the treatment is a slight pressure on the eardrum, such as that felt when a plane lands, as the air in the chamber is compressed.

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy