Update: HBOT For Radionecrosis (Delayed Radiation Injury)

Today we have upgraded our Radionecrosis page. It's a most fitting way to begin updating our section on the Approved indications for hyperbaric oxygen, as delayed radiation injury ranks among the most well researched and common uses of HBOT. In our HyperbaricLink Commentary we also note:

Medical science offers few other options for cancer patients who suffer delayed radiation injuries. As more oncologists employ more powerful and sophisticated radiation therapy technologies, more patients will be healed. And more will be hurt. So the lack of access to accredited hyperbaric facilities and certified hyperbaric physicians and technicians is a growing public health problem.

Just yesterday, on MDNews.com, Dr. Felix A. Pesa wrote, "To date HBOT is the only therapy that reverses the effects of radiation induced tissue damage." Pesa is medical director of Humility of Mary Health Partners Wound Care and Hyperbaric Medicine at St. Elizabeth in Youngstown and St. Joseph in Warren, Ohio.

People affected by radiation injury will find new links to relevant cancer community and support groups under Patient Resources. We now refer visitors directly to the ACHM's Radiation Research Registry (RRR) and the Baromedical Research Foundation's Hyperbaric Oxygen Radiation Tissue Injury Study (HORTIS) pages for more complete information about current research. Find these and other new links under Clinical Resources.

See our June 7 post, "Diseases/Conditions Upgrades And Updates," for more information about our new page format. And look for regular updates in the days and weeks ahead.

[Image: Interactive graphic "Fatal Radiation" by Graham Roberts/Bill Marsh, New York Times.]

O2.0 is the news blog of HyperbaricLink, the independent web guide to hyperbaric oxygen therapy.