ANDERSON, Ind. — The technology that helped injured Indianapolis Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney play in Super Bowl XLIV on Sunday has made its debut in Madison County.
Community Hospital recently unveiled its new hyperbaric chamber, the same pressure treatment device Freeney used when a sprained ankle threatened to keep him out of the game.
Just in time for the Super Bowl, the hospital sent its first patient through the treatment last week, taking the chamber on its maiden “dive.”
Community’s chamber, however, is intended for wounds and not sports injuries as Freeney’s, though both treatments using pure oxygen are similar.
Treatments in the hyperbaric chamber are referred to as “dives” because the chamber simulates the pressure found beneath the ocean’s surface.
Dr. Joseph Baer supervised the first dive last week, and said it was a success.
The technology behind the hyperbaric chamber is not new, he said, but only recently became widely accepted as a means of treatment for various wounds.
The treatment is most often used to treat diabetic foot ulcers, wounds and bone infections, he said.
While lying in the chamber, a patient’s entire body receives 100 percent oxygen.
This increases blood flow, helping to speed the healing process, according to Cindy Swisher with the Center for Advanced Wound Healing at Community Hospital.
Last week, 60-year-old Larry Phillips of Anderson became the chamber’s first patient.
With deep heel ulcers on each foot, Phillips was worried that the ulcers would eventually threaten his bones.
Phillips said the experience was an enjoyable one. “You just lay on the bed. You have to pop your ears as you dive. They take you down to about 66 feet in the ocean. They had a TV and I watched ‘Price is Right’ and ‘Let’s Make a Deal’.”
After the treatment, Phillips felt his feet reacting. “There was some tingling in the foot right at the end of the session and it was something I hadn’t experienced before and it felt good.”
Phillips must spend one hour in the chamber every weekday for the next month, but it’s better than the alternative, he said.
If it weren’t for the hyperbaric chamber treatment, Phillips would be replacing bandages daily for about six months until the ulcers healed.
The first to dive in Madison County, Phillips knows he’s a unique patient. “I feel honored. I never dreamed I’d do anything like that, but my health dictated that I’d be a candidate for it.”
The treatment may be able to do more than heal wounds. It could save limbs, Baer said.
“The alternative is they don’t heal, get chronic infections, and that can lead to amputation,” he said.
“For the community of Anderson, it gives these people another modality to heal these chronic wounds and save limbs. It’s one more tool in our arsenal that promotes healing and health.”
Contact Brandi Watters 640-4847, brandi.watters@heraldbulletin.com
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