Sentara Princess Anne Hospital now offering hyperbaric oxygen therapy

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — Sentara Princess Anne Hospital in Virginia Beach is now offering Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy. 10 On Your Side got a first-hand look at how it works along with a personal testimony from a patient experiencing the treatment.

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, or HBO for short, is simply designed to enhance healing and decrease infection. It infuses tissues with pure oxygen at increased pressure, and it all happens inside an acrylic chamber.

“The benefits of it is that you can see a resolution of some symptoms related to whatever diagnosis they had to get into, to receive the treatment, whether it be due to late effects or radiation or problems with diabetic foot ulcers and things of that nature,” said Adrian Adkins with Sentara Wound Healing Center.

Sentara patient Edward Nixon said the treatment is his last hope to recover after undergoing eight surgeries. He’s been battling health issues since 2005.

“I had Prostate cancer, and I had two Robotic Surgeries, and then it didn’t bother me, and that was a success,” said Nixon. “And, 2012, when it came back and then I had radiation and that was okay. And January the 8th, I came down with massive, blood clots, and I found myself in excruciating pain.”

Nixon’s facing the aftermath of radiation treatment, but finds the HBO therapy to be working.

“This treatment is painless,” said Nixon. “I mean, you just lay in a comfortable bed, and you breathe and they say that the arches and the high level arches helps the body repair itself. So that’s about it.”

Inside the chamber, patients are able to relax and even watch TV as a treatment can last around two hours. The amount of treatments vary from patient to patient.

“There’s grounding braces and things like that that are used, as well as the materials that you wear while you’re in a chamber to promote the safety,” said Adkins.

The following Sentara sites of care provide HBO administered by Restorix Health.