Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy

Breathing 100% oxygen at increased atmospheric pressure is a painless, proven way to help the body heal.

The hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) chambers in Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital's Wound Center work by surrounding you with 100% oxygen at higher than normal atmospheric pressure. You will be treated in sessions, or dives, that last 90 to 120 minutes. These sessions increase the amount of oxygen in your blood, allowing red blood cells to pass more easily into the wounds and heal them from the inside out.

Introduced in the mid-1960s, HBO chambers have evolved to treat patients suffering from diabetic ulcers, infections, compromised skin grafts and flaps, and wounds that haven't healed within 30 days.

Weighing more than one ton each and nearly three feet in diameter, our two hyperbaric oxygen chambers resemble reclining beds encased in a clear acrylic shell. You can listen to music, watch television or movies on a DVD player mounted above the chamber.  You will always remain in constant contact with those outside the chamber through an intercom and private handset.

The only physical sensation resulting from the treatment is a slight pressure on the eardrum, such as you feel when an airplane lands.  This is the result of the air in the chamber being compressed.

Please note: Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital's Wound Center only performs medically indicated hyperbaric oxygen treatments that have been approved the Hyperbaric Medical Society, Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Contact Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital Wound Center

Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital’s Wound Center is located on the Lake Forest Campus in the Bays Medical Office Building, 900 North Westmoreland Road, Suite LL-78. Valet parking is available for patients and visitors.

To make an appointment at the Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital Wound Center, please request an appointment online or call 847.535.7600.