A special hi-tech oxygen therapy unit has been added to Highline Medical Center’s variety of resources for healing. The therapy is not new; first used in the mid-1800's to promote wound healing through the use of oxygen under pressure.

A early purpose of hyperbaric therapy was to treat divers who experienced the "bends" that occur when a diver surfaces too quickly from the depths. The therapy reverses the effects.

What is new is the manner in which the therapy is administered. No more clunky tubes and heavy masks. No more walk-in, trailer-sized rooms. No water is involved. Just a long, clear, single patient tube.

John Meierderck, a trainer for Healogics, Inc. from Jacksonville, Florida, which manages the Wound Healing Institute at Highline, said Healogics uses the Secrist clear acrylic cylinder. Secrist has 35 years of development behind their system. It is the size of a rain barrel and roughly 9 feet long. There are stainless steel runners that allow a patient to easily slide inside on comfy bedding. The benefit of clear acrylic is evidenced by the attending technician who can observe the patient who rests in the unit for 2 hours. A wide-screen monitor can be set above the unit for TV shows or movies. A stereo system is near the head of the chamber for communicating with the patient or who may want to listen to music or watch a show.

Technician Bryce Mazza operates the unit, getting the patient educated on what to expect and what they will experience. Once inside a patient is treated with 100% oxygen about 2.5 times the pressure at sea-level. The extra pressure is akin to diving forty-five feet underwater or traveling over a mountain pass. Patients are told to "clear their ears", reducing the pressure by opening their jaw or swallowing.

Director Damon McCutcheon, of CHI Franciscan Wound Healing Institute explained that the purpose of the pressurized oxygen is to aid healing of internal and external wounds that have failed to heal on their own. The pressure on the blood vessels forces the blood into areas not easily served by the circulation of the patient under normal conditions.

Treatments can run four to twelve weeks, with patients receiving care five days a week for two hours each visit. It is not painful, it is not complicated. For some who suffer from claustrophobia the clear chamber offers added comfort and can be opened easily by the technician at any time.

The center will begin receiving patients near the end of May.

The Highline Medical Center Wound Healing Institute is located at 16233 Sylvester Rd. SW Ste. G60 in Burien. For more information on the hyperbaric therapy unit, the types of treatments involved, the center can be reached at 206-244-9970. For more information on the unit itself, go to www.healogics.com on the web.