What Researchers Did
US plastic surgeons reviewed 6 years of records from 348 women who had breast reconstruction with tissue expanders after mastectomy, comparing outcomes between those who received HBOT for skin complications and those who did not.
What They Found
All 19 patients who received HBOT had skin necrosis (tissue death) at the surgical site. Despite this, HBOT salvaged 76% of mastectomy pockets in treated patients, compared to only 41% in similar untreated patients (p < 0.0001), nearly twice the success rate. Complication rates stabilized between 30 and 90 days, suggesting HBOT's benefits are durable.
What This Means for Canadian Patients
Breast reconstruction after mastectomy is a common procedure for Canadian breast cancer survivors. When skin tissue starts dying after reconstruction surgery, HBOT can nearly double the chances of saving the reconstruction and avoiding a second major surgery.
Canadian Relevance
Compromised skin grafts and flaps are an OHIP-covered indication for HBOT in Ontario, making this finding directly applicable to reconstructive surgery patients in Ontario.
Study Limitations
This was a retrospective review at a single institution, and HBOT was only used in the most severe cases, making direct comparison with untreated patients inherently unequal.