HBOT - An Effective Option for the Treatment of Chronic Wounds in Diabetes Mellitus: A Case Report

Abstract Diabetes mellitus is a chronic metabolic disease characterized by chronic hyperglycemia and disorder of carbohydrate, fat and protein metabolism, caused by an absolute or relative lack of insulin secretion and/or action. It is manifested by a characteristic clinical picture, and in the further course of the disease, complications occur in small blood vessels (microangiopathy) and large blood vessels (macroangiopathy). Diabetic foot syndrome is “foot ulceration, associated with peripheral neuropathy and peripheral vascular disease of varying degrees and infection”. It is the most common and serious complication associated with this chronic metabolic disease. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is inhaling 100% oxygen under carefully controlled elevated pressure conditions. It has found its significant place as one of the treatment modalities for several pathological conditions characterized by tissue hypoxia, such as diabetic wounds. In this report we presented a 59-year-old male patient and a 73-year-old female patient with different kinds of diabetic wounds on which hyperbaric oxygenation had an evident positive effect.