Side effects from oral cancer treatment left Mike Serpe in terrible pain and unable to eat or drink for months. But after coming to Mayo Clinic, where he began hyperbaric oxygen therapy followed by surgery, his throat healed, and he reclaimed his love of cooking and eating.

When Mike Serpe came to Mayo Clinic in December 2018, six months after undergoing chemotherapy and radiation therapy for oral cancer, he was in pain 24/7. He couldn't swallow and was getting the nutrients his body needed through a feeding tube.

"I started to have side effects from the radiation in October. I had a very sore throat, and I was coughing constantly," Mike says. "The coughing spells would take my breath away, and I had to call 911 twice."

Mike's doctor in Green Bay, Wisconsin, a former Mayo Clinic resident physician, knew otolaryngologist Daniel Price, M.D., at Mayo's Head and Neck Cancer Center. The physician called Dr. Price to make arrangements for Mike to see him at Mayo Clinic in Rochester.

Analyzing the problem

When he met Mike, Dr. Price explained that the radiation and chemotherapy Mike had received to cure a cancerous tumor in his tongue had caused a condition called osteoradionecrosis.

"The condition occurs when blood supply to the bone is damaged from those cancer treatments, and the bone dies," Dr. Price says. "As it dies, it becomes infected and painful. The tissue around the bone also gets infected, and it has to be removed."

"You could barely understand what (Mike) was saying, and he was quite distressed by the level of pain."

Daniel Price, M.D.

In Mike's case, the affected bone was the hyoid — a free-floating, horseshoe-shaped bone at the root of the tongue in the front of the neck. The bone injury and infection significantly affected Mike's ability to eat and swallow.

"He had very limited ability to move his tongue and had damage to the muscles of his throat from the cancer," Dr. Price says. "You could barely understand what he was saying, and he was quite distressed by the level of pain."

As they planned the next steps in Mike's care, Mike's Mayo Clinic team helped him navigate his distressing symptoms. "During December and January, I experienced the worst physical pain I've ever had," Mike says. "Thankfully, Dr. Price's staff was on top of how you do pain management. I was on six different pain medications, which put me in a state of stupor that I didn't like. They referred me to a Pain Medicine specialist who helped me wean off some of them."

Crafting a plan

Depending on the severity of the condition, treatment for osteoradionecrosis can include taking antibiotics and other medications to halt the infection. But Mike needed more than that. "He had very aggressive osteoradionecrosis, which we treat with hyperbaric oxygen therapy and surgery," Dr. Price says.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy involves breathing pure oxygen in a pressurized room or tube. It can be used to treat a variety of conditions, including serious infections, and it helps promote healing.

The plan was for Mike to have 40 hyperbaric oxygen treatment sessions. Halfway through that series of treatments, Dr. Price would perform a debridement — a robotic surgical procedure during which he would remove Mike's hyoid bone, as well as some residual nonviable tissue that was contributing to the ongoing infection.

Mike previously had hyperbaric oxygen treatment in Green Bay. But because he had to be in a tube for that treatment, he found it extremely claustrophobic and didn't continue the treatment. Mike was able to get past that problem at Mayo Clinic, however, because he could receive hyperbaric oxygen therapy at Mayo in a larger open chamber. He also found a similar open-chamber facility closer to his home in Wisconsin, so he split his sessions between the two locations.

It was a useful way to manage the treatments, says Dr. Price. "Hyperbaric oxygen is time-intensive. You're in an oxygen chamber for an hour a day for 30 consecutive days, so it's not always easy for people to do that far from home."

Relishing the results

As the hyperbaric oxygen therapy moved forward, Mike began to notice a difference. "Until we started the hyperbaric therapy, I was having a hard time breathing and felt horrible physically," Mike says. "As the hyperbaric treatments progressed, I was able to swallow and eat solid foods."

The hyperbaric oxygen therapy healed most of the damaged tissue. Then on March 6, Dr. Price performed surgery to remove the remaining nonviable tissue, along with the bone and a tendon. After being discharged two days later, Mike underwent ten more hyperbaric oxygen treatments near his home.

Today, Mike has put cancer and the side effects from its treatment behind him. "He's fully healed, and there's no evidence of the osteoradionecrosis or any ongoing infection," Dr. Price says.

"It's wonderful to be able to taste and enjoy all of these flavors and spices again."

Mike Serpe

That's improved Mike's quality of life tremendously. Not only can he once again talk easily, without pain, he's back to enjoying his time in the kitchen, savoring cooking and eating. "I love to make chicken cacciatore, and spaghetti and meatballs. Whatever the spirit moves me," Mike says. "It's wonderful to be able to taste and enjoy all of these flavors and spices again."

For that, Mike is grateful to the team who provided his care at Mayo Clinic. "It's a small group of doctors throughout the country who treat this type of cancer and know each other, so I was very fortunate to be referred to Dr. Price," Mike says. "I would never go anywhere else for anything more serious than a hangnail. The care I received at Mayo Clinic was wonderful."

HELPFUL LINKS 

• Learn more about hyperbaric oxygen therapy.
• Visit the Department of Otorhinolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery.
• Check out Mayo Clinic's Head and Neck Cancer Center.
• Connect with others talking about head and neck cancer on Mayo Clinic Connect. 
• Explore Mayo Clinic.
• Request an appointment.

The post Savoring the Many Flavors of Life After Overcoming Side Effects From Cancer Treatment appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.

"To collaborate with the hyperbaric oxygen team, was just a really fantastic resource to have," says Dr. Shelagh Cofer after finding an innovative way to heal a difficult wound for a young patient named Skyler.

"Skyler's was an interesting case, because her condition isn’t necessarily on the list of things that we treat typically," says Dr. Paul Claus, medical director for Mayo Clinic's Hyperbaric and Altitude Medicine Program. Born out of a need to decompress divers who had been too deep too long, and had absorbed too much nitrogen into their bloodstream, the therapy now is often used to treat carbon monoxide poisoning and chronic wounds that refuse to heal.

For Dr. Cofer, a pediatric ear, nose and throat specialist, and a surgeon, using it was a first. "For me, it was overwhelming to hear what her mom was saying and how it had so positively impacted Skyler's life," she says. Dennis Douda reports for the Mayo Clinic News Network.

Watch: Hyperbaric healing for Skyler

Journalists: A broadcast-quality video package (2:06) is in the downloads. Read the script. 

The post Hyperbaric healing for Skyler appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.

On the Mayo Clinic Radio podcast, Dr. Paul Claus, outgoing medical director of Mayo Clinic’s Hyperbaric and Altitude Medicine Program, discusses the hyperbaric oxygen therapy program at Mayo Clinic. Also on the podcast, Dr. Saranya Chumsri, a medical oncologist at Mayo Clinic, discusses how cold cap therapy can help prevent chemotherapy-related hair loss. And Dr. Stephen Cassivi and John Osborn join the program to discuss the transatlantic partnership between Mayo Clinic and Oxford University. Dr. Cassivi is medical director for the collaboration and Osborn is an administrator for the project.

The post #MayoClinicRadio podcast: 12/2/17 appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.

Boyett's surgeon had prepared him for the possibility that amputation might be necessary. But, in the weeks leading up to the surgery, his doctors had sent him to more than two dozen therapy sessions in a hyperbaric chamber. "In its simplest form, hyperbaric therapy, or hyperbaric oxygen therapy, is breathing oxygen at a higher pressure than [our normal] atmosphere," says Dr. Paul Claus, the medical director for Mayo Clinic's Hyperbaric and Altitude Medicine Program.

Watch: The Mayo Clinic Minute  

Journalists: A broadcast-quality video pkg (1:00) is in the downloads. Read the script.

Because of the technology's origins, each hyperbaric therapy session is called a dive. "It came out of [deep-sea] diving experience, when oxygen was used to decompress divers who had been too deep too long and absorbed too much nitrogen," says Dr. Claus. Today, it's used to treat many medical conditions, including diabetic wounds, gas embolisms, radiation injuries from cancer treatments and carbon monoxide poisoning.

Mayo Clinic's two triple-lock hyperbaric chambers are big enough to hold up to 12 patients who breathe pure oxygen. They're pressurized up to three times the atmosphere at sea level. Why? "They’re laws of physics, and, when you increase the pressure, you dissolve more molecules of oxygen in a fluid state," explains Dr. Claus. "It triggers the body’s response to produce new structure, new blood vessels, new connective tissue and to promote healing."

"It healed me really well – and quickly – and I was very, very pleased with it," says Boyett, who was battling chronic, diabetes-related wounds. He had already lost part of his foot. "He was at risk of having to need a revision of that amputation and lose the lower part of his leg," says Dr. Claus.

Improved blood vessel growth from hyperbaric oxygen therapy is credited with helping Boyett heal. The new blood vessels also carry more immune-boosting cells according to Dr. Claus. "It helps the white blood cells work more efficiently in those areas that are without adequate circulation, and, so, it helps fight infection."

There are about 2500 multiplace hyperbaric oxygen facilities in the U.S., but only a few dozen have the critical care capacity of the program at Mayo Clinic.           

The post Mayo Clinic Minute: Hyperbaric solutions appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.

On the next Mayo Clinic Radio program, Dr. Paul Claus, outgoing medical director of Mayo Clinic’s Hyperbaric and Altitude Medicine Program, will discuss the hyperbaric oxygen therapy program at Mayo Clinic. Also on the program, Dr. Saranya Chumsri, a medical oncologist at Mayo Clinic, will discuss how cold cap therapy can help prevent chemotherapy-related hair loss. And Dr. Stephen Cassivi and John Osborn will join the program to discuss the transatlantic partnership between Mayo Clinic and Oxford University. Dr. Cassivi is medical director for the collaboration and Osborn is an administrator for the project.

To hear the program, find an affiliate in your area.

Follow #MayoClinicRadio, and tweet your questions.

Mayo Clinic Radio is on iHeartRadio.

Mayo Clinic Radio produces a weekly one-hour radio program highlighting health and medical information from Mayo Clinic.

Access archived shows.

The post Mayo Clinic Radio: Hyperbaric oxygen therapy appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.

On the next Mayo Clinic Radio program, Dr. Paul Claus, outgoing medical director of Mayo Clinic’s Hyperbaric and Altitude Medicine Program, will discuss the hyperbaric oxygen therapy program at Mayo Clinic. Also on the program, Dr. Saranya Chumsri, a medical oncologist at Mayo Clinic, will discuss how cold cap therapy can help prevent chemotherapy-related hair loss. And Dr. Stephen Cassivi and John Osborn will join the program to discuss the transatlantic partnership between Mayo Clinic and Oxford University. Dr. Cassivi is medical director for the collaboration and Osborn is an administrator for the project.

To hear the program, find an affiliate in your area.

Miss the show?  Here's your Mayo Clinic Radio podcast.

Follow #MayoClinicRadio, and tweet your questions.

Mayo Clinic Radio is on iHeartRadio.

Mayo Clinic Radio produces a weekly one-hour radio program highlighting health and medical information from Mayo Clinic.

Access archived shows.

The post Mayo Clinic Radio: Hyperbaric oxygen therapy / cold cap treatment / Oxford collaboration appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.

Diving deep and flying high, Mayo Clinic's Hyperbaric and Altitude Medicine program is approaching 10 years of service in Rochester, Minnesota. Although hyperbaric oxygen therapy is rooted in medical science, the process still strikes some people as a bit of a mystery.

"Many individuals have strong opinions as to what it is and what it isn’t," says Dr. Paul Claus, the unit's medical director. "I think people just have to have an open mind, read the literature and look at the evidence. It came out of [deep-sea] diving experience, when oxygen was used to decompress divers who had been too deep too long and absorbed too much nitrogen."

Even though sessions are still referred to as dives, today's applications for therapy include treating diabetic wounds, gas embolisms in blood vessels, radiation injuries from cancer treatments and carbon monoxide poisoning. So how does it actually work? Dennis Douda talks to Mayo's experts.

Watch: Healing with hyperbaric oxygen therapy  

Journalists: A broadcast-quality video pkg (4:16) is in the downloads. Read the script. 

The post Healing with hyperbaric oxygen therapy appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.

Carbon monoxide poisoning led to a plane crash that sent pilot Dan Bass to the hospital at Mayo Clinic. His doctors were able to treat his injuries and help him  recover from the poisoning, thanks in part to hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

The last thing Dan Bass remembers about his flight from Duluth, Minnesota, on Feb. 2, 2017, is turning on the autopilot for his piston-powered, single-engine plane and being cleared for his destination — Winona, Minnesota.

Shortly into the flight, he knew something was wrong. He experienced a strong headache and a butterfly feeling in his stomach. He began to feel anxious. Dan strongly considered calling air traffic control to ask if he could land. Just 10 minutes after take-off, Dan lost consciousness. His plane continued on autopilot, traveling south from Duluth at 13,000 feet for an hour and a half until it ran out of gas and crashed in a field 45 miles from Rochester, Minnesota, shortly before 8 p.m.

Miraculously, he survived. Injuries from the crash landed Dan in the hospital at Mayo Clinic, where his care team discovered that his symptoms and loss of consciousness during the flight were a result of carbon monoxide poisoning. Fortunately for Dan, his treatment at Mayo Clinic's Rochester campus — including hyperbaric oxygen therapy — helped him recover and become well enough to return to the skies.

A search for help

When Dan regained consciousness after the plane crash and realized what had happened, he tried to find his flashlight and his cell phone. He couldn't locate either one. Then he tried to get out of the plane.

"I couldn't move my legs and thought initially that I was paralyzed. Then I was able to move my toes and realized my feet were pinned," Dan says. "After I got free and got out of the plane, I started to walk toward the road. I couldn't walk more than a couple steps before falling down. I crawled some and tried to walk again, but I was physically exhausted."

While lying on the ground, Dan noticed buildings in the distance. He got up and started walking in that direction. It was around 9 p.m., and it was 5 degrees outside.

"The trauma staff has this innate ability to calm you down. They worked really fast and all of them were personable." — Dan Bass

Dan found a house and could see a woman sitting in her living room through the window. As he made his way up the driveway, he started yelling for help. When she opened the door, Dan told her he'd crashed his plane, and asked her to call 911 and call his wife. Soon after, Dan was taken by ambulance to a helicopter that was waiting to fly him to Mayo Clinic Hospital — Rochester. That was one aspect of the situation that made Dan feel lucky.

"I passed out going in a direction that flew me to Mayo Clinic," Dan says. "The trauma staff has this innate ability to calm you down. They worked really fast and all of them were personable."

A full recovery

In the Emergency Department at the hospital, Dan learned he had a spine compression fracture, a puncture wound on his knee, a laceration on his upper lip, and a broken upper jaw. He also found out why he'd passed out at the start of his flight.

A crack in the exhaust of the plane had been leaking fumes into the cabin through the plane's heating system during the flight. Blood work showed that the level of carbon monoxide in Dan's bloodstream was high at 13.8 percent.

People who lose consciousness due to carbon monoxide are at significant risk of neurologic injuries that can develop days or weeks after the poisoning. Those injuries can lead to memory loss, confusion, personality changes, altered mood, hallucinations and Parkinson-like movement disorders.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy helps clear carbon monoxide by dramatically increasing blood oxygen levels. Patients breathe 100 percent oxygen while under three times normal air pressure in a sealed room. The delivery of oxygen at that increased pressure is 15 times more than what is possible at normal air pressure.

"There isn't another place in the world I would rather crash. All the nurses, all the staff, everybody I dealt with was great." — Dan Bass

"This therapy limits further ischemic brain cell injury by reducing swelling, delivering high levels of dissolved oxygen, and limiting the toxic effects of carbon monoxide on those cells," says Paul Claus, M.D., medical director of the Mayo Clinic Hyperbaric and Altitude Medicine Program.

A respiratory therapist recommended the oxygen therapy for Dan. Although he was a bit skeptical at first, Dan had the treatment at noon the next day.

"They took me to three atmospheres, which is about 100 feet below sea level," Dan says. "My first treatment was three hours long."

Dan had two more treatments the following day.

Breathing easier

Since his treatment, Dan hasn't experienced any symptoms from his exposure to carbon monoxide, and recovery from his other injuries has gone smoothly.

The Winona native, who's been flying since he was 17, is now out of the brace that immobilized his back for three months while his body healed, and he's ready to get back in the pilot seat. Although being involved in a plane crash is not something he would choose to experience, Dan is grateful he came down where he did.

"There isn't another place in the world I would rather crash," Dan says. "All the nurses, all the staff, everybody I dealt with was great."

HELPFUL LINKS:

• Learn more about carbon monoxide poisoning.
• Read about hyperbaric oxygen therapy.
• Explore Mayo Clinic's Rochester campus.
• Request an appointment.

The post Sharing Mayo Clinic: ‘There Isn’t Another Place in the World I Would Rather Crash’ appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.

William Kranz delights in telling people he is "living his life behind bars," with two more years to go. But William welcomes that time because, to him, those bars represent freedom and better health.

The "bars" are actually metal rods inserted under William's ribcage during a surgical procedure at Mayo Clinic's Arizona campus. They freed him from the pain and emotional distress that burdened him for most of his 36 years.

William, from Dearborn Heights, Michigan, was born with pectus excavatum, a condition where his breastbone was sunken into his chest. It eventually impeded his breathing and interfered with his heart function.

"Breathing was a daily chore for me," he says. "I remember just lying in bed at night, crying, because I would hold my chest, and my heart was beating so hard, it felt like it would beat right out of my chest."

Until he was 33, William even didn't know the name of his condition. Doctors insisted that his sunken chest was just cosmetic, or the result of "growing pains." Once he learned about pectus excavatum, it led him to Mayo Clinic and, eventually, to the surgery that dramatically improved his quality of life.

"My breathing is completely changed. I can take a full breath, and I've never been able to experience that," he says. "I feel 100 percent better."

Bound by constant pain

For many years, William's condition caused daily problems. He not only experienced breathing issues, a rapid heartbeat and persistent pain, but his condition took an emotional toll, as well. "I was teased and bullied as a kid," he says, admitting he continually invented ways to not have to expose his concave chest, even at doctor appointments. In time, the toll his condition took on him led to depression.

"I was about 280 pounds at age 33, and I felt like I was going to die," William says. He openly admits that he harbored suicidal thoughts on occasion. "I felt like I was in self-exile."

The turning point came when he went in for a routine medical checkup. The doctor saw William's chest and assumed William already knew he had pectus excavatum. But William couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"I was just shocked. I felt like I was the only one in the world with it," he says. "I had never heard that term or seen anyone else with it."

After that appointment, William got down to business, exploring websites and reading all he could about pectus excavatum. Not only did he learn he was not alone, he found information about Dawn Jaroszewski, M.D., a Mayo Clinic cardiovascular and thoracic surgeon. All he read about her, including patient testimonials, pushed him to contact Dr. Jaroszewski's office.

"Everything made sense," William says. "It clicked for me."

Liberated to an active life

When he learned there was a procedure that might be able to help him, William vowed to be surgery-ready. He made a pledge to get in shape and take off some weight. He took up running, and despite his breathing issues, he not only completed a 10K, but he surprised himself by finishing a half marathon.

His efforts paid off. Mayo Clinic accepted him for pectus excavatum surgery, which took place on Feb. 16, 2016. Dr. Jaroszewski placed the three metal bars in his chest to push out his sternum and hold it in place. He immediately felt a sense of calm, William says, knowing he had found help to correct the condition that had caused him misery for so long.

William sings the praises of his care team: Dr. Jaroszewski; Kelly Myers, pectus coordinator; Marianne Merritt, a nurse in Cardiothoracic Surgery; and everyone involved in his care.

"What Dr. Jaroszewski did for me was truly life-changing, and I can't recommend her, her pectus team and the Mayo Clinic enough," William says. "Today I have absolutely zero pain from my pectus condition, or from my surgery. I can actually breathe, and all my issues went away."

William recently returned to Mayo Clinic for his one-year follow-up. While in Arizona, he came in first in his age group at a 5K race at the Phoenix Zoo. He also plans to participate in an ironman competition in Louisville, Kentucky, in October 2017.

"I hope to be the first person to complete an Ironman competition with pectus bars," he says. "I hope to be able to use that event as a platform to raise more awareness for pectus."

Watch this video to learn more about William's story.

HELPFUL LINKS

• Read more about pectus excavatum.
• Learn about pectus excavatum surgery.
• Explore Mayo Clinic's Department of Cardiac Surgery.
• Connect with others talking about pectus excavatum, and other cardiothoracic conditions on Mayo Clinic Connect.
• Request an appointment.

The post Sharing Mayo Clinic: Hyperbaric oxygen therapy helps heal a veteran’s wounds appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.

A U.S. Air Force veteran who served from 1986 to 1995, including in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, Fritz was treated for cancer at the Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Health Care System. He had his prostate removed in 2012, followed by radiation treatments. As of August 2016, Fritz was showing no signs of cancer, but the radiation had taken a toll on his body.

"I had blood in my urine," says Fritz, who also was feeling other painful effects. "There was so much scar tissue that they couldn't find the opening from my kidneys into my bladder."

Fritz's VA doctor recommended hyperbaric oxygen therapy. A search of hyperbaric facilities within reach of Fritz's home led him to Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

A viable treatment option

In Eau Claire, Fritz met with James Banich, M.D., a plastic and reconstructive surgeon who also works with wound care and hyperbaric medicine. Dr. Banich says Fritz was a good match for the treatment.

"He had radiation-induced cystitis, which is a bladder inflammation that would bleed and not heal," Dr. Banich says. "Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is very well-documented as an effective treatment for radiation injury."

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy involves lying in a pressurized tube for about two-and-a-half hours, breathing pure oxygen. During each treatment — called a dive because the pressurization process feels like going about 30 feet under water or descending during an airplane flight — pressure helps the body deliver more oxygen through the blood.

"I was amazed at how I was getting better as the treatment went on." — Fritz Kruger

"Better oxygen delivery allows for better wound healing and the ability to fight infection," Dr. Banich says.

Fritz thought being enclosed in the hyperbaric chamber might make him feel claustrophobic. However, the chamber is clear and fairly roomy inside.

"I thought it was going to be like an aluminum or steel chamber with a little porthole to look out of," Fritz says. "Being able to see all the way around, both sides and up, put me at ease. I was comfortable and relaxed enough to fall asleep."

A marked improvement

Those two-hour naps turned out to be a blessing to Fritz, who continued working throughout the course of his 30-day treatment, driving two hours each way to Eau Claire for his treatment five days a week. Within a couple weeks, Fritz says he was starting to feel much better.

"I was amazed at how I was getting better as the treatment went on," Fritz says. His symptoms went away and have not returned.

Dr. Banich says hyperbaric oxygen therapy also is effective for diabetic patients who have wounds on their feet that will not heal. Researchers at Mayo Clinic's Rochester campus continue to conduct research and clinical trials to explore the benefits of the therapy for other types of wounds.

Fritz says all the Mayo Clinic Health System staff was fantastic and put him at ease throughout his experience. And he says you can't argue with the result.

"I couldn't ask to feel any better."

HELPFUL LINKS

• Read more about hyperbaric oxygen therapy.
• Learn about wound care.
• Explore Mayo Clinic Health System.
• Request an appointment.

The post Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Helps Heal a Veteran’s Wounds appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.