A Disruptive Treatment to Prevent Amputation and Enhance Limb Salvage in an Elderly Patient

Abstract

Background: Chronic wounds are a growing problem internationally, termed a silent epidemic. To combat this epidemic, it is not sufficient to rely on traditional wound care treatments alone, but to look to innovative and alternative therapies. The indispensable role of oxygen in wound healing is well-discussed in the literature, and in the past two decades the topical application of oxygen has shown promising results in the healing of chronic wounds. However, the toxic effects of oxygen are usually not appreciated and can often lead to wound necrosis and gangrene in wounds with compromised blood supply. While wounds with adequate blood supply contain free radical quenchers (catalase, superoxide dismutase and reduced glutathione) which neutralize the free radicals (reactive oxygen species) released as a by-product of the Krebs cycle, wounds with deficient blood supply are deficient in free radical quenchers and are further damaged by exposure to oxygen as a result of reperfusion injury/oxygen toxicity. Topical hyperbaric oxygen (THOT &#174 ) uses low oxygen tensions in the hyperbaric range to stimulate angiogenesis, while preventing excessive oxygen toxicity. The result is the induction of marked angiogenesis, with increasing capacity for quenching reactive oxygen species, resulting in wound healing of ischemic wounds. Case Presentation: This case report describes a 95-year-old Caucasian female who presented with a stage IV chronic necrotic ulcer on her lower left leg. Surgical pathology results revealed calcifying vasculopathy, which is thought to be responsible for deficient blood supply to the leg, leading to a necrotic, chronic leg ulcer of her left leg. After traditional wound therapies were unsuccessful, she was considered for leg amputation. The introduction of adjunctive treatment with topical hyperbaric oxygen therapy saw complete healing of the wound within 15 weeks. The wound remained closed, without the presence of scar tissue, with no signs of wound breakdown at three-month and six-month follow-ups. Conclusions: Chronic hypoxic wounds with vascular insufficiency are considered “unlikely to heal” and tend to lead to limb amputation. The use of THOT &#174 technology, with low hyperbaric oxygen tensions to neutralize free radicals released by the Krebs cycle when oxygen contacts the wound, prevents oxygen toxicity and results in angiogenesis necessary for wound healing. In this way, THOT &#174 treatment was able to convert the hypoxic “unlikely to heal” wound considered for limb amputation into one which healed, with limb salvage. The results of this case report demonstrate the potential for complete healing of chronic hypoxic wounds even in complex cases with multiple confounding factors preventing wound healing, using a cost-effective treatment that is easily accessible to patients.