For patients who suffer from late effects of radiation exposure, hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO) is often the only treatment that can prevent irreversible bone or tissue loss or enable them to undergo life-improving reconstructive procedures such as breast or facial surgeries. This therapy can provide better quality of life to patients who have already survived cancer.
HBO is also used to help patients suffering from delayed radiation injury, wounds and other various disorders and complex vascular issues, such as ulcers due to diabetic foot and peripheral vascular disease.
With a reputation for quality and expertise, Nebraska Medicine – Nebraska Medical Center is the only hospital in the state providing around the clock emergency, critical care capable and routine clinical HBO therapy. Nebraska Medical Center is the only Nebraska hospital nationally certified by the Undersea & Hyperbaric Medical Society, an accreditation that certifies the highest standards of quality care and patient safety.
What is hyperbaric oxygen therapy?
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy involves the use of oxygen at greater-than-normal atmospheric pressures to treat a variety of disorders.
During HBO therapy, patients are entirely enclosed within a clear acrylic chamber that is pressurized up to three times normal atmospheric pressure.
One hundred percent oxygen is delivered within this pressurized environment, which increases the oxygen concentration in the blood and ultimately in the body tissues.
This combination of high pressure and oxygen increases the amount of oxygen available to your body and promotes wound healing.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy may be used to treat the following conditions:
- Severe anemia
- Brain abscess
- Bubbles of air in the blood vessels (arterial gas embolism
- Burn
- Decompression sickness
- Carbon monoxide poisoning
- Crushing injury
- Sudden deafness
- Gangrene
- Infection of skin or bone that causes tissue death
- Non-healing wounds such as diabetic foot ulcer
- Radiation injury
- Skin graft or skin flap at the risk of tissue death
- Sudden and painless vision loss
Patient Guides
Accreditations and Awards
Nebraska Medicine – Nebraska Medical Center is accredited by the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society (UHMS). UHMS accreditation means our facility has met or exceeded the highest standards of care and patient safety through rigorous evaluation of our operations, including equipment, staff and training to ensure that the utmost quality is maintained within the specialty of undersea and hyperbaric medicine.
