KESMARC Chamber Blast: Ongoing State and Federal Investigations Could Take 6 Months

As we reported last week, the Marion County Sheriff's Office has ruled the February 10 chamber blast at KESMARC in Ocala, Florida, an accident. The state Fire Marshal's Office and the federal Occupational and Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) are still conducting separate investigations. Final reports may not be completed for six months. CLICK HERE for some fine reporting by Rachael Whitcomb of DVM Newsmagazine via DVM360.com. Whitcomb speaks with KESMARC Kentucky owner Kirsten Johnson and Dennis Geiser, DVM, director of hyperbaric services at the University of Tennessee’s Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences. Geisner says he and others are working to establish a veterinary hyperbaric medicine society, training and certification programs, and safety standards

KESMARC Chamber Blast: What We Know for Sure

We patiently await the official report by investigators probing the fatal chamber explosion in Ocala, Florida. Until then we will not hazard a guess about what may have happened. Here's what we know for sure:

• The chamber manufacturer, Veterinary Hyperbaric Oxygen (VHO2), in Lexington, Kentucky, has urged its customers not to use their devices until more is known.
• Hyperbaric oxygen is common healthcare for equine athletes and widely used to treat "the holy trinity of racehorse maladies": bleeders, soft tissue, and tying up. Learn more on the Retired Racehorse blog.
• The rehabilitation center where the blast occurred, operated by Kentucky Equine Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation Center (KESMARC), has a sterling reputation in the equine sports and veterinary medical communities.
• The woman killed in the blast, Erica Marshall, 28, had safely treated two to six horses a day for the last two years. Read more in Horsetalk.
• The woman injured in the blast, Sorcha Moneley, 33, escaped with a bump on the head, a broken ankle, and a fractured pelvis. Read more in Independent.ie.
• The horse killed in the blast was Landmark's Legendary Affaire, pictured here.

More when we learn more, and not before.

UPDATE: 9p Thu 16 Feb 2012. Marion County Sheriff's Office has completed its investigation, noting conflicting eyewitness accounts but concluding the blast was an accident. Read the full story at Ocala.com. The state Fire Marshal's Office and the federal Occupational and Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) are still conducting separate investigations.

[Photo: Leslie Threlkeld/USEA]

Answering the Why of Veterinary HBOT: The Inspiring Tale of 2011 Horse of the Year Neville Bardos

Seeing that today's hyperbaric oxygen therapy news remains clogged with pickups and followups to the KESMARC Ocala tragedy, we feel it's only right to post a much more upbeat story we've had bookmarked since mid-January. With our best wishes for a full and speedy recovery to veterinary physiotherapist Sasha Moneley, who was seriously injured in the blast.

Why do veterinarians take such significant risks to treat equine athletes in hyperbaric chambers? Because it works. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) played a leading role in the inspiring story of Neville Bardos, named 2011 Horse of the Year by the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) and a leading contender for the London 2012 Olympics. Fire killed 6 of 11 horses in Neville's barn last May. He was successfully treated with HBOT for smoke inhalation. Read "Fire Survivor and a Possible Olympian: A Horse Named Neville" in the New York Times, which includes a beautifully photographed video and slideshow. And definitely check out this stirring video tribute on the USEF Facebook page.

[Photo: Josh Haner/New York Times]

KESMARC Ocala Hyperbaric Chamber Explosion: Update and Background

More details are emerging about Friday's hyperbaric chamber explosion at the Kentucky Equine Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation Center (KESMARC) in Ocala, Florida. The horse was not tranquilized and became unruly during treatment, and technicians had begun shutting down the chamber when the horse kicked and the explosion occurred. WESH Orlando has run the most complete coverage from the scene. CLICK HERE to read the full story, including a photo slide show and two fine video news reports. For more background see our previous stories on veterinary hyperbaric medicine.

[Photo: Marion County (FL) Sheriff's Office]

BREAKING: 28-year-old Woman and Horse Killed in Hyperbaric Chamber Explosion in Florida

Via HBOTechBlog we learn of a tragic explosion this morning at the Kesmarc equine rehabilitation facility near Ocala, Florida. One woman is dead, another injured. The horse was also killed. Read more at Central Florida News 13 and in the Gainesville Sun.

UPDATE, 5:56 PM
According to a report on Ocala.com, officials and other sources said the horse "started kicking" and a horseshoe striking the interior of the chamber may have caused a spark.

[Photo: Central Florida News 13]

National Board of Diving and Hyperbaric Medical Technology (NBDHMT) Recognizes Veterinary HBOT

The National Board of Diving and Hyperbaric Medical Technology (NBDHMT), in conjunction with the Veterinary Hyperbaric Medical Society (VHMS), now offers a Certified Hyperbaric Technologist-Veterinary (CHT-V) program. Qualifying applicants must complete prerequisite training. NBDHMT is the chief certifying body for hyperbaric medical technologists, including Divers Medic Technologists (DMT), Certified Hyperbaric Technologists (CHT), and Certified Hyperbaric Registered Nurses (CHRN). Learn more about CHT-V training and certification on the NBDHMT website. Read the full news release from Veterinary Hyperbaric Oxygen, Inc (Lexington, Kentucky), a veterinary HBOT chamber manufacturer behind the video of this adorable little horse.



[Video: Veterinary Hyperbaric Oxygen, Inc]

Horse Rescued from Starvation, Trauma, and (Thanks to Hyperbaric Oxygen) Life-threatening Bone Infection

Horse lovers will want to jump immediately to the after photo of Baby Girl, the buckskin quarter horse, pictured right. Read her complete story, "Horse beats odds: From skin and bones to full of health," in The Gainesville Sun. The 2-year-old filly was suffering from starvation and blunt force trauma complicated by an "aggressive" infection of the jaw and skull. With advanced imaging and hyperbaric oxygen treatment for bone infection, or osteomyelitis, veterinarians at the University of Florida Large Animal Hospital and Kesmarc Florida, an equine sports rehabilitation center in Ocala, were able to save Baby Girl. Now she's the very picture of health.

[Photo: The Gainesville Sun]

Veterinary HBOT: They Treat Horses, Don't They? Pt 3

Often we are impressed by the quality of clinical information about hyperbaric oxygen therapy in veterinary medicine, especially equine sports medicine. Consider this nice, tight paragraph from last month's The Horse:

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy, used in conjunction with other therapies, enables equine practitioners to more effectively treat a wide variety of serious conditions in horses, particularly those pathologic conditions characterized by soft tissue swelling, bacterial infection, tissue necrosis, or poor blood supply. Hyperbaric oxygen improves the physiologic state of injured or underperfused tissues (those that aren't receiving enough blood) by providing increased oxygen levels. Additionally, hyperbaric oxygen increases the production of beneficial growth factors and mobilizes and activates stem cells. All of these effects are helpful to repair damaged tissues and heal injuries in horses.

In all our reading about HBOT for human sports injury, we've found nothing so clear and simple.

We also enjoyed "How to save an injured thoroughbred horse" in the Toronto Star. Living reporter David Graham visits The Sanctuary Equine Sports Therapy and Rehabilitative Center in Ocala, Florida, and teaches us a lot about horse physiology and the business of keeping thoroughbred racers in running shape. Who knew 70% of horses die from colic? And let's add "farrier" to our working vocabulary:

Elite farriers (not to be confused with blacksmiths) often refer to themselves as equine podiatrists—an expanded mandate that covers corrective shoeing, which can improve the way a horse steps and moves. They tackle the cliché of the horse business: “No foot, no horse."

As in human sports, horseracing authorities struggle with training and rehabilitation regimens, like HBOT, that may enhance performance and create unfair competitive advantages.

Someday, when we're feeling confident we've got HBOT for people totally covered, we'll go talk to some vets. Just watch we don't blow all our money at the track.

[Photo: The Sanctuary Equine Sports Therapy and Rehabilitative Center, Ocala, Florida]

HBOT for Pets: The Adventures of Piper the Hyperdog

So this is happening—and why not? Piper, an 8-year-old Sheltie, sustained penetrating wounds when she was mauled by another dog a month ago. Now she is being treated with hyperbaric oxygen by Dr. Andrew Turkell at the Calusa Veterinary Center in Boca Raton, Florida. Turkell estimates there are fewer than half a dozen facilities in the US offering HBOT for small animals. Here's the adorable video that could multiply that number and open up a whole new wing in the HyperbaricLink treatment center directory.



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

Tiger Woods: New (Unpaid) HBOT Spokesman

In his pre-Masters press conference the golf great, by way of denying any illegal use of performance-enhancing drugs, says hyperbaric oxygen "helps you heal faster." Okay. Apparently it helped Tiger rehab from knee surgery and an achilles tear in 2008-2009. And he's certainly not alone. We've been following a long line of top athletes, from Australian cricketers to Superbowl stars to mixed martial artists, who swear by HBOT for speedier recovery. More soon.

But we're of a mind that HBOT is also a performance-enhancing therapy, akin to blood doping and this plasma-spinning thing Tiger's into. Even horse racing officials ban animals from competition for days or weeks following hyperbaric treatments. (Read our horse stories HERE.) We're especially fascinated by the rise of portable/personal hyperbarics for rehabilitation, performance, superhealth, fitness, anti-aging, wellness, and a host of other lifestyle applications.

Look for related blogposts and conditions pages as we dig and collect new HyperbaricLinks on this subject.

August Pic Of The Month

Mobile hyperbaric chamber: Equine Rapid Recovery
Photo: Skip Dickstein/Albany Times Union

Veterinary HBOT: They Treat Horses, Don't They? Part 2

At Churchill Downs it's a day. Now at Saratoga it's a week. The New York State Racing and Wagering Board today imposed a new rule for racehorses treated with hyperbaric oxygen. Horses are banned from competition for 7 days after a dive.

Horse owners and trainers are increasingly using the enclosed chambers, saying they accelerate the healing of wounds and help with lung irritation and congestion. But [board chairman John] Sabini said Tuesday that the half-hour, $300-$400 treatments can unnaturally enhance performance, give some horses an unfair advantage and jeopardize their health.

Guess to some people HBOT sounds too much like oxygen on steroids.

Veterinary HBOT: They Treat Horses, Don't They?

Laugh if you want. A growing body of evidence supports the use of HBOT in veterinary medicine. Now pet emergency and critical care specialist Dr. Tim Crowe adds to the literature a rather impressive review and physics lesson for hyperbaric medical practitioners of all species. But what excites O2.0, besides improving the health of animals, is the possibility of conducting important research that might be impossible in human populations. Giddy up and go.