Pictures of Max's Gangrene Foot Before and after HBOT treatments

Below are pics of what Max's foot looked like when he first came down with gangrene all the way through his last HyperBaric Oxygen Therapy or HBOT treatment on Easter 2013.  He received a total of 12 treatments on his foot, each about 45 minutes in the chamber, no sedation, and as an outpatient.

THE FOLLOWING ARE BEFORE TREATMENT 
If you wonder what Gangrene looks like as it develops.... here you go! 

Right foot is clearly very swollen and darker

Bleeding in between toes (assuming from skin splitting?)

Some blistering forming

After foot was shaved

After they shaved up Max's bad foot - still hasn't had a treatment yet

after 1st treatment - see blisters?

After first treatment - blood is starting to flow  3/24/2013

Pressure wound on Max's hip from laying in the same position for so long while I was on vacation. (gross!)

After 2nd treatment

After 2nd treatment

After 2nd treatment more pink!

After 3rd treatment

After 3rd treatment

After 3rd treatment

after 4th treatment

After 4th treatment - much more pink!

After 5th - blisters are all gone!

after 5th treatment

After 5th treatment

After 6th

After 6th - black dead skin is starting to molt off- lots more normal looking pink!

After #7 - lots more pink! Black crusting and granulation starting to fill in with new tissue

#8 The dead necrotic pads are starting to slough off to make way for new tissue!!!

#9 (Swelling is from standing for too long) - see pink tissue between toes?!

#9 - black is superficial scabbing for the most part

The morning after #9 before #10

After Treatment #11

After Treatment #11

Day after #11 (doing exercises outside!)

Day after #11 (pads still falling off)

Day After #11

After #13 (old pad falling off)

After #13

After #13

After #14

After #14

4 days after #14

4 days after #14

4 days after #14

After #15

After #15 close up - they picked a hole on the top of the crust to help promote healing

After #15 from behind... All Clear!!!  Back to normal - just need some fur!!! (please excuse the kankles!)

2 days after #16

2 days after #16

2 days after #16

2 days after #16

4 days after #16

4 days after #16 (dead tissue pealing down)

4 days after #16

After #17 Max's Doc cut off some of the dead black skin that was crusted over to expose the new tissue and help it heal... (a little bone exposed there on the left pinky toe)

After #18 - pink on all toes!!!  His foot should go back to normal!!!

1 day after #18 - starting to granulate even more

1 day after #18 - you can see new skin there!!! Pretty amazing huh?! and no more bone exposed...

After 18 treatments!!!  Nice color!!! Amazing huh?!

After #20 - bone exposed (no salt baths for now)

After #20 - they cut the toes to let more oxygen in and promote regeneration of the tissue in the ties

Another view of his toes after #20 - as gross as this is.. remember this all used to be dead / necrotic BLACK hard as a rock tissue, with NO LIFE what so ever... now it's nice and pink and red and healthy underneath.

Bottom of Max's foot after #20 - A little bone showing but lots of new pink tissue! (he does stand and take steps on this foot and he wiggled his pinky toe as well.

A new toe is forming - Stem cells are amazing things!

After treatments #21, #22, and #23 - Max's dead skin covering one of his toes came off - along with the nail - we'll have to go through this process with the other toes too - kind of gross.. so the plan is the stem cells that are stimulated from the HBOT treatments should grow a new toe... that's the plan anyway.

By golly - I think it might be working - this is taken on 5/7/2013 4 days after HBOT treatment # 23 and it appears to be growing into a full fledged toe vs. a nub.. it's getting to normal size.. REALLY WILD!

GANGRENE & HBOT

Many of you who have been following Max know he developed a nasty case of Gangrene in his foot while I was on vacation.  The consensus is that it was from not moving enough (should be moved every 4-6 hours minimally and do exercise / Physical therapy).

I had him checked out - all over..

• Cardiac EKG, UltraSound and Doppler were done to make sure there was no clot - cardiologist said he has a very heathy heart!
• Xrays were done - no masses - just arthritis  (he's over 100 in human years)
• Blood work done - normal for him for the most part - elevated where you'd expect  from being on the meds he's been on.  
• Test to determine if there was a clot= came back likely for a clot
• UltraSound of abodmen - all clear - no masses, 
• UltraSound of blood vessels - showed a 40% block in his gangrene leg - when the legs were togeher there was no flow, when they were separated the flow was pretty good... so they think this is what was going on

Gangrene can be caused by a few things: 

• Venomous spider bite  (check the poisonous spiders in your area)
• Venomous snake or scorpion bites
• Diabetes and poor circulation
• Ranaud's disease (circulation issues)
• Clots

What is__gangrene?

It's necrotic or dead tissue and can include an infection too. It is caused by a lack of blood feeding the tissue and the tissue dies

How Gangrene is treated

Many vets just say to put animals down.

Many others just want to cut off the part of the body that has it.  (surgery)

OR.......

there's Oxygen Therapy... or Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT).. which is what we are doing.

Little did I know that HBOT treatment is FANTASTIC for neurological patients and helps improve neuroplasticity - which is helping the brain recreate the connections it lost during brain damage (stroke, brain bleed, hemohrage, anurism, brain tumors, head trauma, etc)  It also is great for infections too. 

Here are some links for you to review:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21287528

http://www.hyperbaricexperts.com/conditions/neurological-disorders/hbot-the-brain.html

(List of other things HBOT can be used to treat:

http://www.vet.utk.edu/departments/LACS/hbot.php

We are getting treatment at Southpaws in DC... google and look for a hospital that offers CERTIFIED AND TRAINED HBOT providers near you

http://www.vcahospitals.com/main/news/article/hyperbaric-oxygen-therapy-hbot-available-at-southpaws/21833


So... We're now going to post pictures after EACH of Max's Treatments in the next posting.. Max is getting 2 treatments  / day with 4 hours in between each treatment -