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A New Technology
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Equine Oxygen Therapy, a Lexington, Kentucky-based worldwide manufacturer and distributor of equine hyperbaric oxygen therapy chambers.
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Once every two or three decades a new technology becomes available that greatly impacts the veterinary profession. Twenty years age it was ultrasound therapy, now, for equines, it is Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT).
Revolutionary
HBOT is a revolutionary medical technology useful for treating acute injuries as well as enhancing the healing of chronic disorders. HBOT is effective as an adjunct therapy to other medical techniques and procedures, and it has a proven track record in human medicine.
Successful
Already, clinical experience has shown that HBOT can be successfully applied to many of the same conditions in the horse as is applied in human medicine. Equine medical therapy is often a composite of multiple medical treatments used to promote healing and recovery - Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy gives veterinarians one more weapon in their arsenal of treatments.
How HBOT Works
The normal atmospheric pressure that we live under is measured in atmospheres absolute (ATA's). 1 ATA is the normal atmospheric pressure at sea level. This is equivalent to 14.7 pounds per square inch (PSI), or 760 millimeters of mercury (mmHg), that we breathe. The atmospheric air is approximately 79% Nitrogen and 21% Oxygen, resulting in an Oxygen partial pressure of about 160 mmHg.
Normal circumstances of oxygen delivery in the body are dependant on the proportion of oxygen in the air that we breathe. lung function, the amount of hemoglobin in our blood, and the body's blood pressure. Increasing the amount of air that you breathe cannot improve the amount of oxygen delivery by hemoglobin, and breathing 100% oxygen at normal atmospheric pressure will only increase the amount of oxygen dissolved in blood plasma by a small amount. The partial pressure of oxygen in the blood is dramatically increased when breathing oxygen at two or more atmospheres of pressure. Increasing the atmospheric pressure in the chamber during a treatment increases the solubility of oxygen into the body. This process allows oxygen to enter plasma and tissues more readily and promotes the formation of new cells thus further enhancing oxygen availability. Ischemic wounds and areas of infection now have new cells to increase circulation and supply life saving oxygen and antibiotics.
Use of HBOT for Acute and Chronic Conditions:
 Osteomyelitis
 Joint infections in foals / adults
Complications following deliberate or accidental puncture wounds to joints, bones and feet
Enhancement of healing in selected problem wounds
Prevention of infection in "dirty" wounds
More rapid healing and higher quality granulation tissue in wounds over joints and other areas of increased mobility
Wounds not responding to conventional antibiotic therapies alone
Selected Aerobic and Anaerobic soft tissue infections
Staph infections
Obstetrical infections
Crush injuries
Gas gangrene
Lung/Airway Problems
Pneumonia (Rhodococcus included)
Post Bleeding
Upper Airway inflammatory disease
Allergies
Post Colic Surgery
Prevention of ischemia reperfusion injury post colon torsion
Septicemia in adults and foals
Post surgical complications
Successfully used pre and post stem cell surgery to diminish the risk of complications and enhance cell regeneration
Compromised Immune Systems
Following disease exposure / traumatic surgical or traveling experiences.
Breeding difficulties
In mares and stallions
Uterine infections / fluid pooling
Low sperm count / low libido
Carbon monoxide poisoning
Animals involved in barn fires or traffic accidents involving fire
Management of Fungal Diseases
As an adjunct therapy in the treatment of skin conditions and fungal diseases (usually seen in patients with other debilitating diseases or compromised immune systems.)
Neonatal maladjustment syndrome
Dummy foals
Dystocia foalings involving fetal asphyxia
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