Hyperbaric Oxygen Promotes Rapid Recovery After Plastic Surgery

With the development of social economy and the demand of beauty, cosmetic surgery (liposuction, abdominal plastic surgery, breast fixation, breast augmentation and fat transfer) is becoming more and more common, but there will be worries or worries. How to reduce or prevent postoperative complications? How to speed up postoperative recovery and resume work as soon as possible?

This is a retrospective case report: there are 296 patients who received hyperbaric oxygen therapy in hyperbaric oxygen chamber after plastic surgery. The incidence of complications in patients treated with hyperbaric oxygen is low and there is no infection. Compared with the recovery time recommended by major international plastic surgery organizations, hyperbaric oxygen can further accelerate the recovery and shorten the recovery period. Overall, this study emphasizes the good role of using hyperbaric chamber, hyperbaric oxygen therapy in promoting postoperative recovery and reducing complications.

References: Aguilar ha, Ramí rez ba, Serrano hm, Villa Bonasj, Hoyosae, Varela A. Experience of Hyperbaric Chamber Usage in Aesthetic Plastic Surgery Practice for Recovery and Complication Prevention. Plast Reconstr Surg Glob Open. 2024 Nov 5; 12(11):e6264.

01 patient's situation

296 patients received hyperbaric oxygen therapy after cosmetic surgery, including 280 women (94.6%) with a median age of 33.5 years.

The median operation time was 240 minutes. Most people underwent two operations at the same time (49.3%), followed by three operations (34.1%), and a small proportion received only one operation (15.5%) and four treatments at the same time (1%).

Surgery was divided into three groups: liposuction (n = 174, 58.7%), abdominoplasty (n = 77, 26.1%) and breast interventions such as breast fixation, breast augmentation and fat transfer (n = 45, 15.2%).

Complications related to surgical events included hematoma (n = 14, 4.72%), anemia (n = 9, 3.04%) and wound dehiscence (n = 8, 2.70%). No ischemic or infectious events were reported.

02 Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy

Postoperative hyperbaric oxygen therapy in hyperbaric oxygen chamber was given 24 hours after operation: 2ATA, once a day for 45 minutes, a total of 5 times.

Among the patients who received liposuction as the main operation (n = 174), the only late postoperative complication was hematoma (n = 5, 2.87%).

The recovery process of them using hyperbaric oxygen: it took an average of 1 day to brush their teeth independently, 2 days to dress independently, 3 days to shower independently, 8 days to wear shoes independently, and 10 days to return to work on average.

Among the patients who received breast regional intervention as the main operation (n = 45), the only late postoperative complication was wound dehiscence (n = 3, 6.6%).

The recovery process of them using hyperbaric oxygen: it takes an average of 2 days to bathe independently, 8 days to brush their teeth independently, 10 days to dress independently, 15 days to wear shoes independently, and 3 days to return to work on average.

Among the patients who underwent abdominoplasty as the main operation (n = 77), the immediate postoperative complications were anemia (n = 9,11.6%), and the late complications were hematoma (n = 9,11.6%) and wound dehiscence (n = 5,6.5%).

Recovery process of using hyperbaric oxygen: it takes an average of 1 day to brush your teeth independently, 8 days to dress independently, 8 days to bathe independently, 30 days to wear shoes independently, and 21 days to return to work on average.

Discussion Section

This paper aims to introduce the experience of using hyperbaric oxygen in the recovery process after cosmetic surgery. Through this study, we can show the postoperative recovery time of patients using hyperbaric oxygen, identify various postoperative complications experienced by this group of subjects, and indirectly show the role of hyperbaric oxygen in the whole process. Due to the limitation of methodology, we can't prove that hyperbaric oxygen is effective in the postoperative process, but we compare the results of this study with the information available online to establish the first step of a new research route that we will develop in this field.

The median age was 33.5 years old, and most of the patients were women, which was consistent with the data reported by the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS). The complication rate of these patients is 10.7%, which is lower than the average complication rate of body contour reported in the literature (11.17%). Excluding anemia that hyperbaric oxygen can't change, the incidence rate is 7.6%, which shows that the incidence of complications after hyperbaric oxygen is significantly reduced compared with the current evidence. The reported complication rates of liposuction and breast intervention were 2.87% and 6.6% respectively, which were lower than those reported in the literature (8.3% and 6.6% respectively). The incidence of complications of abdominoplasty (excluding anemia) was 18.1%, which was equivalent to the literature (18.8%).

It is worth noting that there is no case of surgical site infection in this study, which is the result of all aseptic processes of surgical intervention, antibiotic prevention schemes and postoperative hyperbaric oxygen use, which not only promotes tissue recovery, but also controls and reduces the development of surgical site infection, whether through oxygen free radicals, neovascularization, recruitment of defense cells, or synergistic effect with antibiotics.

The median time for patients receiving hyperbaric oxygen therapy after liposuction to return to work is 10 days, which is lower than that recommended by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), ISAPS and Cleveland Clinic, which recommended to return to work two weeks after operation. The average time for patients receiving breast intervention to return to work is 3 days, which is also lower than the advice of ASPS and ISAPS, which suggest returning to work at least 5 days later. Finally, it takes 21 days for patients undergoing abdominal plastic surgery to return to work, which is within the range mentioned by ASPS, ISAPS and Aesthetic Society (14 to 30 days). The recovery time is not short, because although the use of hyperbaric oxygen after operation is helpful to wound healing, major operations such as abdominoplasty need a scheme including preoperative hyperbaric treatment to obtain the best results. As proved in other surgical environments, these preoperative treatments can help to prepare and strengthen the tissue in the surgical area (Table 6).

However, it is important to acknowledge the limitations of this study. First of all, this is a retrospective study, which shows the experience of using hyperbaric oxygen in the practice of cosmetic plastic surgery, but there is no comparison between groups to prove the effectiveness of its use in patients' rehabilitation. Secondly, as a retrospective study, it is impossible to deeply study the new variables of interest or to interview or follow up patients.

In a word, this study shows the experience of using postoperative hyperbaric oxygen to promote the recovery process in cosmetic plastic surgery. The cohort of patients in this study has the recovery time to return to work after liposuction and breast intervention, which seems to be very fast. In addition, the incidence of complications in this patient cohort is low, and there is no infection in this group.

What I want to say

1. In terms of plastic surgery and anti-aging,I has written many articles, constantly telling everyone about the potential value and advantages of hyperbaric oxygen in the field of plastic surgery. Through the retrospective study of this literature, the effectiveness of hyperbaric oxygen therapy has been further confirmed.

2. In this document, the hyperbaric oxygen therapy scheme in hyperbaric oxygen chamber is 2ATA, and the pressure is stabilized for 45 minutes, once a day. I personally guesses that this scheme does not interfere with patients' lives too much, which is beneficial to patients' compliance and the flexible development of hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

3. However, from the basic knowledge, especially the five kinds of tissues saturated and desaturated by gas, the hyperbaric oxygen treatment scheme in the literature is still flawed. For example, liposuction and abdominoplasty will involve adipose tissue, which has poor blood supply and long semi-saturation time, and involves surgery. Therefore, given similar situations, hyperbaric oxygen treatment pressure is higher and the treatment time is longer, which may better promote the prognosis.

4. Of course, 2ATA can still achieve good results in this literature, but there is no obvious ischemia in the tissue after operation. If there is a critical situation, appropriate high pressure and initial high frequency should be given.

5.Learning how to use and publicize hyperbaric oxygen well,let’s work hard together.