negrosis

lola5071

Has anyone had this? My husband completed his treatment 7 months ago and seemed to be healing fine. The he had one of his blood vessions burst. Doctors went in and found a hole. Tissue was not healing. They are now butting him into some sort of oxygen chamber for 90 minutes a day for 30 days. They are hoping it will promote healing. They are very certain that it isn't a reoccurance of cancer. He had such a high dosage of radiation (on both sides) and chemo and said this sometimes happens. Anyone else have any experience withthis?

longtermsurvivor

it happens
there is very significant loss of blood flow to irradiated tissues. This can lead to several complications. what you refer to is termed necrosis. Necrosis really means "rotting". In osteoradionecrosis, what rots is bone which has lost its blood supply ( oxygen supply). In your husbands case it is a vessel wall that has been compromised. Hyperbaric oxygen grows new small blood vessels, the type which supply oxygen to the larger vessel. If the hyperbaric fails, they will graft a healthy blood vessel from somewhere else, like leg or arm. It is a strange result, but it happens, and it will be ok.


Pat

lola5071

longtermsurvivor said:

it happens
there is very significant loss of blood flow to irradiated tissues. This can lead to several complications. what you refer to is termed necrosis. Necrosis really means "rotting". In osteoradionecrosis, what rots is bone which has lost its blood supply ( oxygen supply). In your husbands case it is a vessel wall that has been compromised. Hyperbaric oxygen grows new small blood vessels, the type which supply oxygen to the larger vessel. If the hyperbaric fails, they will graft a healthy blood vessel from somewhere else, like leg or arm. It is a strange result, but it happens, and it will be ok.


Pat

longtermsurvivor
Oh my gosh thank you so much. I haven't been able to find alot about it. They mentioned the same thing. They will try the chamber for 15-20 days and see if there is any improvement if not then surgery. He was radiated with an extremely high dosage and had chemo as well. As first we thought the cancer was back but it has just been 7 months and he's had 2 clean CT scans and a clean PET scan. Thanks for your response. It has made me feel alot better. Do you know anyone who has gone through the procedure. Just wondering what you feel like when you get out and what sort of limitations, if any, you might have.

hwt

lola5071 said:

longtermsurvivor
Oh my gosh thank you so much. I haven't been able to find alot about it. They mentioned the same thing. They will try the chamber for 15-20 days and see if there is any improvement if not then surgery. He was radiated with an extremely high dosage and had chemo as well. As first we thought the cancer was back but it has just been 7 months and he's had 2 clean CT scans and a clean PET scan. Thanks for your response. It has made me feel alot better. Do you know anyone who has gone through the procedure. Just wondering what you feel like when you get out and what sort of limitations, if any, you might have.

Haven't had the experience
Haven't had the experience yet but my surgeon said I would need to be in a hyper baric pressure chamber before having my dental work done in November. I hope it doesn't mean every time I have dental work. Also hope it's not as scary as it sounds.

longtermsurvivor

hwt said:

Haven't had the experience
Haven't had the experience yet but my surgeon said I would need to be in a hyper baric pressure chamber before having my dental work done in November. I hope it doesn't mean every time I have dental work. Also hope it's not as scary as it sounds.

it is actually a crushing bore
it takes over two hours per session, and unless you are treated in a big center, you will be stuck in one of those dinky chambers. I spent my thirty sessions in one three years ago. Boring. Not scarey, but you cant take anupything with you to read. It wilk also likely screw up your vision for a few months. But it tpreally does help. Lots of us have had HBO.

To the other poster, a vascular transplant is not necessarily a big deal, but it depends on whether you have lost much surrounding soft tissue. If a large defect needs repaired, that is doeable, but may require taking a significant full thickness graft from a distal site, usually forearm or leg, sometimes chest. I have had that done to repair the defecr created by the cancer surgery. It worked out just fine.

Pat

hwt

longtermsurvivor said:

it is actually a crushing bore
it takes over two hours per session, and unless you are treated in a big center, you will be stuck in one of those dinky chambers. I spent my thirty sessions in one three years ago. Boring. Not scarey, but you cant take anupything with you to read. It wilk also likely screw up your vision for a few months. But it tpreally does help. Lots of us have had HBO.

To the other poster, a vascular transplant is not necessarily a big deal, but it depends on whether you have lost much surrounding soft tissue. If a large defect needs repaired, that is doeable, but may require taking a significant full thickness graft from a distal site, usually forearm or leg, sometimes chest. I have had that done to repair the defecr created by the cancer surgery. It worked out just fine.

Pat

Siteman Cancer Center in STL
Siteman Cancer Center in STL so I am assuming they would have advanced equipment...hope so. Also hope not 30 sessions @ 2 hours each.........yikes, maybe not just to have dental implants.

Rick2924

Necrosis
I've had 2 bouts with ORN (osteoradiaonecrosis). In both cases I had 30 hyperbaric oxygen treatments. They then checked the bone to see if it was healing on its own. In my case the bone had not healed so they did a procedure called a partial mandibulectomy in which they ground down that area until they got to good healthy bone. I only had one night in the hospital. I then had 10 more hyperbaric treatments. The bone healed rapidly after that. My surgical oncologist and oral surgeon were both amazed at how quickly I healed on both occaisions. I have to attribute that to the HBO treatments. I hope your husband has as good a result as I did.
Rick

fisrpotpe

HBO
i had one go round with necrosis several years ago. they gave me iv antibiotics for 9 weeks 3 times per day 7 days a week. i had them at home and actually did it myself and was very simple. once a week a nurse would come to house to check everything. after that i did 40 HBO treatments.
the HBO treatments take 2 hours, you get to strip down to a robe and blankets. they put me in a glass tube, while inside i could either watch tv or listen music or nothing. they pump in pure oxygen into chamber with the idea of using pressure to force oxygen into your system and the problem area. some people struggle with the pressure in the ears while the raise the lower the pressure. I did not.

it's a good time to take a nap. i had no side effects while doing the treatments.

no something you want to do but not hard to do.

let us know how it goes.

john

katenorwood

longtermsurvivor said:

it happens
there is very significant loss of blood flow to irradiated tissues. This can lead to several complications. what you refer to is termed necrosis. Necrosis really means "rotting". In osteoradionecrosis, what rots is bone which has lost its blood supply ( oxygen supply). In your husbands case it is a vessel wall that has been compromised. Hyperbaric oxygen grows new small blood vessels, the type which supply oxygen to the larger vessel. If the hyperbaric fails, they will graft a healthy blood vessel from somewhere else, like leg or arm. It is a strange result, but it happens, and it will be ok.


Pat

HBO
Hi everyone !
I have been doing extensive studies on HBO treatments in other countries. It is absolutely amazing on the healing process it has on the body. I am hoping beyond hope that soon in the USA it will become a standard treatment for healing damaged tissue and organs. But with the good, there is the bad. I am so glad that this has helped some of our survivors on this site with the mouth (jaw) issues ! Warmest regards, Katie

ljoy

HBO Medicine
I originally posted this in February 2010.

Four and a half years after tonsil cancer treatment another phase of the cancer journey has entered my life. While eating a few weeks ago I bit down on a piece of food and felt what I thought was a loose crown.I immediately made a dentist appointment.

A quick exam revealed a loose tooth as opposed to a loose crown. The x-ray showed tissue and bone deterioration around and under the tooth. It is my right lower jaw tooth. It is also the side I received the most radiation (7200 rads). My dentist referred me to an Endodontic specialist for a root canal. Based on the x-ray and oral examination he was not sure the deterioration was caused from a root problem. However, based on my history and wanting to do everything possible to save the tooth he preceded with a root canal. Afterwards he suggested I see a peridondist as well.

I decided to seek a different opinion at this point. I met with the Radiation Oncologist at the cancer center where I volunteer and serve as a mentor for Head and Neck patients. He referred me to an oral surgeon who treats a lot of cancer patients. After further examination he has determined it is radionecrosis (tissue damage from radiation treatment). Even a lay person can see the change in the bone and tissue around the tooth.

I began Hyperbaric Chamber treatmenta last week. I will have thirty treatments and then oral surgery to remove the tooth. Another ten treatments will be necessary after the surgery to help promote healing of the bone and tissue. If they pull the tooth before the hyperbaric treatments they are convinced it will not heal.

The good news is the treatments are painless. However, I have a 75 mile commute one-way to the facility. The treatments are an hour and fifty minutes. The chamber holds 8 - 10 patients per session. I have had a little problem keeping my ears clear from the pressure. It is suppose to get better as I complete more treatments.

Hopefully, the hyperbaric treatments will restore circulation to the damaged area. This will reduce the amount of dead bone to be removed during surgery and help the area to heal properly afterwards.

This has nothing to do with good oral hygiene after treatment. So everybody please continue to be diligent in checking your mouth for any potential problems. I feel my regular dentist could have done a better job. I had a checkup and cleaning in early December and the loose tooth was not detected. Perhaps we all should consider annual x-rays to look for tissue and bone deterioration from radiation.

It is also very interesting that three other patients receiving treatments for the same reason. I will post an update once I finish to let all of you know how successful the treatments were in preventing further problems.

The treatment was a success. I have had no further problems over the past three years.

hwt

ljoy said:

HBO Medicine
I originally posted this in February 2010.

Four and a half years after tonsil cancer treatment another phase of the cancer journey has entered my life. While eating a few weeks ago I bit down on a piece of food and felt what I thought was a loose crown.I immediately made a dentist appointment.

A quick exam revealed a loose tooth as opposed to a loose crown. The x-ray showed tissue and bone deterioration around and under the tooth. It is my right lower jaw tooth. It is also the side I received the most radiation (7200 rads). My dentist referred me to an Endodontic specialist for a root canal. Based on the x-ray and oral examination he was not sure the deterioration was caused from a root problem. However, based on my history and wanting to do everything possible to save the tooth he preceded with a root canal. Afterwards he suggested I see a peridondist as well.

I decided to seek a different opinion at this point. I met with the Radiation Oncologist at the cancer center where I volunteer and serve as a mentor for Head and Neck patients. He referred me to an oral surgeon who treats a lot of cancer patients. After further examination he has determined it is radionecrosis (tissue damage from radiation treatment). Even a lay person can see the change in the bone and tissue around the tooth.

I began Hyperbaric Chamber treatmenta last week. I will have thirty treatments and then oral surgery to remove the tooth. Another ten treatments will be necessary after the surgery to help promote healing of the bone and tissue. If they pull the tooth before the hyperbaric treatments they are convinced it will not heal.

The good news is the treatments are painless. However, I have a 75 mile commute one-way to the facility. The treatments are an hour and fifty minutes. The chamber holds 8 - 10 patients per session. I have had a little problem keeping my ears clear from the pressure. It is suppose to get better as I complete more treatments.

Hopefully, the hyperbaric treatments will restore circulation to the damaged area. This will reduce the amount of dead bone to be removed during surgery and help the area to heal properly afterwards.

This has nothing to do with good oral hygiene after treatment. So everybody please continue to be diligent in checking your mouth for any potential problems. I feel my regular dentist could have done a better job. I had a checkup and cleaning in early December and the loose tooth was not detected. Perhaps we all should consider annual x-rays to look for tissue and bone deterioration from radiation.

It is also very interesting that three other patients receiving treatments for the same reason. I will post an update once I finish to let all of you know how successful the treatments were in preventing further problems.

The treatment was a success. I have had no further problems over the past three years.

Chamber
So, if I understand correctly, this is a one time Tx and not something that a person needs to do every time they need dental work. Is that correct?

longtermsurvivor

hwt said:

Chamber
So, if I understand correctly, this is a one time Tx and not something that a person needs to do every time they need dental work. Is that correct?

actually, HBO therapy is good for about two years
much longer than that, and it will need repeated if additional workmis required. Hey, read your email:)

Pat