January 31, 2013
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy at Jupiter
Medical Center helps stroke victim recover
Story by Robin Cross / CBS12 News
JUPITER, Fla. -- Hyperbaric oxygen chambers,
which infuse oxygen into the body, are being touted for their
abilities to heal a variety of health issues.
Dr. Leslie Phillips, a veterinary surgeon,
boasts the lives of the many pets she has saved in the operating
room at the veterinarian hospital where she works. A dog that
lived thanks to her precise surgical skills.
MORE: Hyperbaric
oxygen therapy helping to heal animals
But her life and career almost ended one
day while vacationing on a Caribbean beach. She suffered a stroke
and collapsed.
The skilled surgeon videotaped herself
just days after suffering her stroke. With her motor skills impaired,
her career which depends on her precise hand movements, was all
but dead.
But not all hope was lost. At the Animal
Emergency and Referral Center in Fort Pierce where she works,
she had placed many four-legged patients suffering traumatic
brain injuries into a hyperbaric chamber.
After witnessing animals that walked out
looking like nothing had happened, she decided to give it a try.
She did it twice a day for two weeks. The results, nothing short
of amazing.
But according to the Mayo Clinic, there's
no conclusive evidence that hyperbaric oxygen therapy improves
the outcome of a stroke. As a result, Leslie paid out of her
own pocket.
Dr. Barry Miskin runs the Wound Healing
Center at Jupiter Medical Center, which has the largest hyperbaric
chambers in the state. Typically used by divers who have experienced
decompression sickness, the chambers also have other approved
uses.
The chambers have an amazing ability to
heal wounds from foot ulcers to the flesh eating diseases. Crush
injuries can be treated and even hearing loss. Some claim it
also can have positive effects on all sorts of diseases from
AIDS to cancer. Internationally, there are more than 80 known
uses for hyperbaric oxygen therapy.
But for Leslie, the benefits of hyperbaric
oxygen therapy are clear. She's back in the O.R. saving four-legged
lives.
Watch the videe on the original article
page here:
www.cbs12.com/news/top-stories/stories/vid_4898.shtml
See also: Benefits of HBOT for
Stroke patients
