Underwater and Hyperbaric Medicine

What is Underwater Medicine and Hyperbaric Medicine?

The Department of Underwater Medicine and Hyperbaric Medicine is the branch of science that provides diving suitability examinations, diagnoses and treats diving-related diseases and applies Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) as an adjunct treatment in various diseases.

What Diseases Does the Department of Underwater and Hyperbaric Medicine Deal with?

Vurgun disease (Decompression), gas embolism with air, carbon monoxide cyanide poisoning, acute smoke inhalation, gas gangrene, necrotizing infections of soft tissue (subcutaneous, muscle, fascia), crush injuries, compartment syndrome and other acute traumatic ischemias (conditions where wound healing is prolonged) ), chronic refractory osteomyelitis diabetic and non-diabetic, radiation necroses, skin flaps and grafts suspected of involvement, brain abscesses, thermal burns, encephalopathy, sudden hearing loss, skull bones, retinal artery occlusion, acute osteomyelitis of the sternum and vertebrae. HBOT; Apart from the above indications, it can also be used in some diseases such as mucormucosis, Crohn's disease with perineal fistula, purpura fulminans, electrical burns, implant and prosthesis infections, cerebral palsy.

Which Diseases Is Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Used For?

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy treats skin, subcutaneous and bone tissue such as non-healing wounds in which the oxygen level in the tissues decreases or completely disappears, foot wounds of diabetics (diabetic foot infections), death of bone tissue due to malnutrition (avascular necrosis, chronic osteomyelitis), bone infections and burns. It can be applied in many diseases of interest. The applications performed in patients with tissue patches (tissue repairs with grafts and flaps) show a supportive and healing effect. Patients who develop sudden vision loss with sudden hearing loss are among the patient groups in which hyperbaric oxygen therapy is effective. In addition to these, hyperbaric oxygen therapy increases the oxygen level in the tissues in many different diseases in carbon monoxide poisoning and wounds developed after radiotherapy; It also shows significant effects by shrinking gas bubbles with the effect of high pressure in decompression sickness and gas embolism.

We can list the diseases in general terms as follows;

• Crush injuries, compartment syndrome and other acute traumatic ischemias
• Carbon monoxide, cyanide poisoning, acute smoke inhalation
• Necrotizing infections of soft tissue (subcutaneous, muscle, fascia)
• Conditions where wound healing is delayed (diabetic and non-diabetic)
• Acute osteomyelitis of skull bones, sternum and vertebrae
• Retinal Artery Occlusion (Sudden Vision Loss)
• Suspicious skin flaps and grafts
• Decompression sickness (highlight)
• Air or gas embolism
• anoxic encephalopathy
• With radiation necrosis
• Chronic Osteomyelitis
• thermal burns
• sudden hearing loss
• osteonecrosis
• gas gangrene
• brain abscess

How Many Sessions of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy?

Although the duration of treatment varies according to the condition and severity of the disease, in general, patients attend sessions once a day, lasting 1.5-2.5 hours each. In some emergencies, up to 4 sessions of treatment per day can be performed. The total number of sessions varies according to the disease.

Who Should Not Apply Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy?

Those who have undergone lung surgery are evaluated carefully and, if necessary, with advanced radiological methods. Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy can be applied to the patient in cases that require vital treatment in case of pregnancy, but routine treatments can never be preferred in patients with active cancer and widespread metastases.