Using our state-of-art hyperbaric chamber, Duke experts provide hyperbaric oxygen therapy to treat patients suffering from conditions such as:

• Air or gas embolism
• Carbon monoxide poisoning and smoke inhalation
• Compromised skin grafts and flaps
• Crush injury, compartment syndrome, and other acute blood inflow blockages
• Decompression sickness (“the bends”)
• Clostridial myonecrosis and myositis (gas gangrene)
• Necrotizing soft tissue infections
• Problem and slow-healing wounds due to vascular disease, diabetes, and radiation exposure
• Pulmonary alveolar proteinosis
• Radiation tissue damage, such as osteoradionecrosis
• Refractory bone infections (osteomyelitis)

Duke Dive Medicine

Duke Dive Medicine is a specialized medical practice that offers evidence-based medical care and personalized advice to divers, climbers, and aviators.

Duke Dive Medicine provides 24-hour emergency medical care for all types of diving-related injuries, rehabilitation care for post-injury patients, and consultation services related to diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of dive-related accidents.

Personalized Evaluation for Planned Exposure to Ocean Depths or Extreme Altitude Environments

There is no “one size fits all” medical evaluation for individuals planning participation in adventure sports. Clients who might otherwise be prohibited from diving or high altitude climbing may wish to have an expert assessment of their medical status and its implications for extreme environmental exposure.

The physicians at Duke Dive Medicine are world renown in this field and the Duke Center for Hyperbaric Medicine and Environmental Physiology is equipped to simulate trial exposures to almost any environmental condition (under exercise, and immersion if required), while fully monitoring subjects for their safety, as well as for the diagnostic information it might provide.

Learn more about Duke Dive Medicine.

Call 919-684-6726 to:

• Schedule executive level fitness to dive examinations
• Schedule pre-expedition physical examinations for subjects planning high altitude exposure
• Schedule FAA physicals
• Ask a human physiology question related to human extreme environmental exposure

Past clients include divers, pilots, astronauts, and space tourists.

What Is Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy?

Hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy is when 100 percent oxygen is administered in an enclosed chamber in which the pressure is increased to above normal atmospheric pressure. This treatment causes an increase in the amount of oxygen carried in the blood.

In tissues without sufficient blood supply, HBO therapy can promote the development of new blood vessels and help wounds heal. It also can assist the body’s immune system in killing microorganisms such as bacteria.

For patients suffering from decompression sickness or gas embolism, the increased pressure reduces the size of air bubbles and helps to eliminate them.

In cases of carbon monoxide poisoning, HBO accelerates the elimination of carbon monoxide from the body and reduces its harmful effects on tissues.

Breathing 100 percent oxygen at atmospheric pressure -- or applying topical oxygen without enclosing the patient’s entire body in a pressurized chamber -- does not produce the same effects and is not recognized as true hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

Visit Duke Center for Hyperbaric Medicine and Environmental Physiology’s Web site for answers to frequently asked questions about hyperbaric medicine.

Appointments

To schedule an appointment, consultation, or tour, call 919-684-6726.

For an emergency, call 919-684-8111.

Physicians

Physicians offering this service include:

• Dear, Guy De L.
  • Anesthesiology / Anesthesiology-Pediatric Division
  • Pediatrics / Pediatrics-Chairman Office
• Freiberger, John J.
  • Anesthesiology / Anesthesiology-Hyperbaric Division
• Moon, Richard
  • Anesthesiology / Anesthesiology-GVTU Division
  • Medicine / Medicine-Pulmonary
• Piantadosi, Claude A.
  • Medicine / Medicine-Pulmonary
  • Pathology
  • Anesthesiology
• Stolp, Bryant “Bret” W.
  • Anesthesiology / Anesthesiology-Neuro Division
  • Cell Biology

Locations

This service is available at:

• Duke Hyperbaric Medicine Clinic
  Duke Clinic 1D, 40 Duke Medicine Circle, Durham, NC 27710
• Duke University Hospital
  2301 Erwin Road, Durham, NC 27710