Delayed Radiation Injury to Soft Tissues
- → Soft Tissue Radionecrosis
- → Complications from Radiation Therapy
Includes, but not limited to:
- → Radiation Cystitis
- → Radiation Proctitis and Enteritis
- → Oral Cavity Delayed Soft Tissue Radiation Injury- Laryngeal Necrosis
- → Abdominal, Pelvic and Other Soft Tissue Wounds due to Radiation Therapy
- → Neurological Injuries Secondary to Radiation Therapy
Delayed radiation injuries are typically seen after a latent period of six months or more and may develop many years after the radiation exposure. These injuries can cause significant debilitation to patients. Often, delayed injuries are precipitated by an additional tissue insult such as surgery within the radiation field.
- Hyperbaric oxygen treatment allows more oxygen to reach these radiation damaged areas. A series of hyperbaric oxygen treatments can help to stimulate new blood vessels to grow. This gives the body the opportunity to heal and significantly improve, if not totally relieve patients of their presenting symptoms.
- Hyperbaric oxygen treatment stimulates angiogenesis – neo-vascularisation – Improves post operative healing / surgical outcomes in the area of previous radiation, including increased success of skin grafting or flap.
- Hyperbaric oxygen can mobilize & stimulate an increase of stem cells by increasing nitric oxygen in normal tissues. Similar effect in irradiated tissues is likely.
- Hyperbaric oxygen also increases the ability of infection-fighting white blood cells to kill harmful bacteria and accelerate healing.
Hyperbaric oxygen has been applied as a therapy for delayed radiation injury for more than 30 years.
Prophylactic interventions such as hyperbaric oxygen could be applied during the latent period but before the manifestation of the chronic radiation injury which could be prevented or at least reduced in its severity.
Radiation damage can occur anywhere in the body that radiotherapy has been used to treat cancer.
● Radiation to the urinary bladder can cause pain, incontinence and bleeding, this is called radiation hemorrhagic cystitis.
● Radiation proctitis or enteritis can occur when there is radiation to the area of the lower GI tract. This can cause pain, incontinence, spasms, diarrhea, and bleeding.
● Additional radiation injuries in this area can lead to fistula formation or wounds directly connected to the bowel. Delayed radiation injury to other soft tissue locations can cause wounds, pain and neurolgical deficits.
● Hyperbaric oxygen also has a frequent application in the prevention of mandibular osteoradionecrosis when dental extractions are required from heavily irradiated mandibles.