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ANZSVS Conference 2026
Last hope or lost cause? Hyperbaric therapy in the exhausted salvage option limb 
Poster

Poster

Disciplines

Vascular Surgery

Presentation Description

Institution: Royal Adelaide Hospital - South Australia, Australia

Purpose:Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) has been used as an adjunctive treatment in chronic non-healing wounds. There are limited studies focusing on HBOT as a treatment for salvage of limbs when all revascularisation options have been exhausted. This is important as patients with chronic non-healing wounds that are unable to have  further (or any) revascularisation, HBOT is often used as a last resort. Hence, it is important to evaluate the effectiveness of HBOT in this group of patients. Method:A literature review was done with the terms ‘hyperbaric oxygen therapy’, ‘limb ischaemia’ and ‘diabetic foot’. Data will be collected from the Royal Adelaide Hospital’s (RAH) hyperbaric department from patients referred from Vascular, to review their outcomes. Result:Published studies have shown reduction in wound size in chronic limb-threatening ischaemia (CLTI); however, evidence is limited and heterogenous. Most papers had highly variable inclusion and exclusion criteria and do not specify the extent of peripheral arterial disease. When HBOT has been associated with lower major limb amputation rates, it was used in conjunction with successful or attempted revascularisation in most studies In patients with no other revascularization options, HBOT does not appear to be beneficial. In diabetes-related foot wounds, there are more publications. Outcomes generally suggest improved healing and reduced major limb amputation rates. A majority of these studies only include patients with tissue loss but viable limbs.  Most are single centre reviews with small sample sizes involving heterogenous populations. Outcomes recorded vary.  Conclusion:Evidence suggests that the effectiveness of HBOT is inconclusive in its role in wound healing and in amputation avoidance. Different institutions also have different regimens for HBOT.  No studies review functional and quality of life outcomes in patients who received HBOT versus patients who received primary major limb amputation.
Speakers
Authors
Authors

Dr Yu Shan Neo - , Professor Robert Fitridge - , Dr Albert Kota - , Dr Omar Aziz -