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UTMC’s Wound Care and Hyperbaric Center is one-of-kind in Toledo

Daniel Miller

UTMC’s Wound Care and Hyperbaric Center is one-of-kind in Toledo

By Tyrel Linkhorn

Scott Bein insists the hyperbaric chamber he manages at The University of Toledo Medical Center isn’t a miracle machine, but for patients willing to put in the time, it can come close.

“This is a highly effective treatment. I can’t emphasize that enough,” said Bein, who is the program director of hyperbaric medicine at UTMC’s Wound Care and Hyperbaric Center. “Without a doubt, this is a life-changing experience for most of our patients.”

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Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is a small but important part of the UTMC’s comprehensive program for treating chronic, non-healing wounds and ulcers.

Patients undergoing the non-invasive therapy at UTMC enter a large, pressurized chamber and wear a hood that delivers pure oxygen. The increased pressure allows their plasma to deliver significantly higher-than-normal concentrations of oxygen throughout the body to fight infection and promote the regrowth of tissue and skin cells.

It’s not a quick fix — Bein said patients can require up to three months of treatment sessions, which are two hours a day, five days a week — but roughly 85 percent of patients who stick with hyperbaric oxygen therapy see a complete resolution of their wounds.

Most commonly, patients who receive hyperbaric oxygen therapy at UTMC are suffering from diabetic ulcers, which if left untreated can lead to amputation or wounds caused by radiation treatment for cancer.

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That’s the case for LaBelle Wilson, whose cancer was treated by a combination of surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

Though she’s now cancer-free, Wilson has suffered for months with the lingering effects of her radiation therapy, including a large wound that would not heal on its own.

“I felt so hopeless. The surgery itself was healed up quickly. I couldn’t even tell I’d ever had surgery, but my radiation burn was extensive,” she said.

Wilson’s physician suggested hyperbaric oxygen therapy could help, but she was hesitant to sign on because of her claustrophobia. The location at which she was being treated had a monoplace, or single-patient, hyperbaric chamber in which the individual lies in a clear tube enclosure similar to an MRI.

After hearing UTMC has the region’s only hospital-based multiperson chamber, she worked with her care team to receive treatment at UTMC’s Wound Care and Hyperbaric Center.

The experience inside UTMC’s custom-built chamber is reminiscent of a first-class flight. There are wide, reclinable seats for up to 10 patients at a time, pillows and blankets, a snack cart — even a movie. Patients can stand and move around and receive multiple breaks during the two-hour treatment.

“This is the advantage we have over monoplace chambers. That can be very difficult for some people,” Bein said. “This is the best option for hyperbaric patients to get their treatment, hands down.”

After 20 treatments, Wilson’s wound has shrunk from the size of a dollar bill to the size of a quarter. Another 20 and her care team hopes she’ll be completely healed.

“I’ve been through some things, but it wasn’t until I got to UTMC that I could see the light,” she said. “By the grace of God, finally, I can say it’s going to be all right.”

Normally, red blood cells are responsible for carrying oxygen throughout our bodies, but there’s a limit to how much oxygen they can deliver, and depending on the type of wound, their access may be blocked.

The higher pressure within a hyperbaric chamber — it’s equivalent, Bein said, to being 40 feet beneath the ocean’s surface — allows oxygen molecules to be diffused into the plasma or liquid part of the blood.

Not only does that put more oxygen in the bloodstream, it also allows the body to more effectively deliver the oxygen to damaged tissue. The result is new tissue growth and the growth of new blood vessels that will ultimately deliver the oxygen that keeps the new tissue healthy and viable.

“The faster we heal a wound, the better off that patient is,” Bein said. “We limit infections, we limit amputations and we can actually put that patient back into the quality of that they had prior to that ulceration.

“With this supplying oxygen from inside and high-tech tissues applied to the outside, the heal rates have been outstanding.”

First Published July 26, 2021, 4:00 a.m.

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