Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) is a conventional, primary or complementary therapy applied to humans and animals since the middle 1600s.
In most diseased tissue, the oxygen concentration is significantly decreased. The low level of oxygen prevents tissue healing and can decrease the effectiveness of other conventional therapies that are being administered.
The goal of hyperbaric oxygen therapy is to increase the amount of oxygen delivered to the diseased tissue to improve healing, maintain tissue function, and aid recovery of the patient.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy allows a patient to breathe very high concentrations of oxygen by placing the patient in a chamber and increasing the air pressure around them. The increased pressure condenses the oxygen molecules in the lung, making more molecules available to diffuse into the blood. By breathing 100% oxygen under increased pressure, the amount of oxygen dissolved in the blood can be increased by as much as 15 times the normal concentrations.
As we increase the concentration of oxygen in the blood to very high levels we increase the diffusion distance and the amount of oxygen in the tissues. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy may be used alone or integrated with other conventional therapies.
The University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine has been involved with hyperbaric therapy in animals for over 20 years. The clinical hyperbaric service supports all of the other clinical services in the UT Veterinary Medical Center with the capacity to treat small animals, large animals, and many exotic animal patients.
The veterinarians at the UT College of Veterinary Medicine and at other hyperbaric centers are good resources for consultation on the use of hyperbaric therapy in animals.
The hyperbaric medicine faculty and staff are trained by a Certified Veterinary Hyperbaric Technologist (CHT-V) who is certified through the Veterinary Hyperbaric Association.
To learn more about animal hyperbaric therapy call UT Veterinary Medical Center at 865 974-8387 and ask to speak with Dr. Steve Adair (large animals) or Dr. Marti Drum (small animals).
