An Exhilarating Three Years. This past weekend Hyperbaric Medical Solutions celebrated its third anniversary. As the medical director, this achievement brought me to reflect on my experiences over that time. Perhaps the most profound change I have experienced, both personally and professionally, is the revelation regarding the awesome power of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT). Having been “raised” in a conventional medical world with a conventional medical education, I knew little about hyperbaric medicine before my involvement with HMS. However, after hours of courses and review of journals and textbooks, as well as treating many patients, I have become a true believer in HBOT.
To date we have treated 335 patients with almost 11,500 HBOT sessions. In this time we have seen patients improve at incredible rates and show progress not previously seen through other more “traditional” treatments or therapies. We are very proud to say that 75% of the patients we've seen with diabetic foot ulcers, osteomyelitis, radiation tissue damage, failed flaps/grafts, or other chronic wounds have shown a greater than 50% improvement.
HBOT is not a miracle cure. It will not help everyone, but it is a powerful modality that deserves to be developed and promoted as a safe and highly effective tool in our battle to fight disease. It belongs in the realm of conventional medicine and it should be taught to medical professionals during both their initial education and continuing education.
Medical professionals in both the “alternative” medical world as well as the “conventional” medical world have to shed their biases against one another and start to cooperate for the good of their patients. HBOT is an underutilized modality and now is the time to take the best of both worlds and create the level of care that our patients deserve.
-Dr. Henry Prince
