Assaf Harofeh Medical Center - Institute of Hyperbaric Medicine

Assaf Harofeh Medical Center is one of four medical centers in Israel providing Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy for a wide spectrum of medical conditions. The center located only 15 km from Tel Aviv and Ben Gurion Airport. Being one of the largest hospitals in Israel, Assaf Harofeh Medical Center provides comprehensive medical services to a population of over 372,000 people in Central Israel. The hospital offers treatments for a relatively large number of tourists offering pleasant and peaceful modern facilities and the very best of Western Medicine.

Numerous scientific clinical trials designed to study effects of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy on healing an array of acute and chronic conditions are carried out continuously by the Research & Development Unit of the Institute of Hyperbaric Medicine directed by Dr. Shai Efrati, M.D, Head of the Institute of Hyperbaric Medicine, Head of Research & Development unit of Assaf-Harofeh Medical Center. Yair Bahor, Assaf-Harofeh Hyperbaric Unit's CHT, has kindly provided hyperbaric-oxygen-info.com the following summary of Assaf Harofeh Hyperbaric Unit’s services...

At Assaf Harofeh Medical Center we have an accumulative treatment experience of over 500 cases per year of non healing wounds. The treatment includes monitoring healing of wounds using the most advanced dressing materials currently available worldwide. We provide close monitoring by specially trained physicians and attend to patients suffering from non-healing wounds as a result of diabetes and vascular disease.

Among conditions treated most commonly at the Institute of Hyperbaric Medicine of Assaf Harofeh Medical Center are:

• Hyperbaric chamber treatment following stroke;
• Treatment of non-healing wounds as a result of diabetes, vascular disease and vasculitis;
• Combined hyperbaric chamber treatment prior to dental implants and oral rehabilitative medicine following radiotherapy;
• Hyperbaric chamber treatment following minor to severe head injuries;
• Hyperbaric chamber treatment of children and adults with Cerebral Palsy (CP);
• Hyperbaric chamber treatment and rehabilitation following bone fractures

Over the last year more than 100 patients were treated, following a stroke, at the Assaf Harofeh Medical Center's hyperbaric chamber. The vast experience that we have accumulated indicates that large areas of the brain which have been partially damaged by stroke can rehabilitate following the hyperbaric chamber treatment. As part of this treatment we perform early tests and monitor both cognitive and neurological functions of the patient.

We are often required to perform hyperbaric oxygen treatments on patients, suffering from radiotherapy damages to the jaw bones, for dental rehabilitation purposes. As part of the process we enable hyperbaric treatment which significantly improves surgery success rates and allows for a mild recovery following surgery. Hyperbaric chamber treatment of neurological cases is considered a breakthrough in the rehabilitative process. Using this treatment, the cognitive and neurological abilities of the patient can be improved, thus providing support for the rehabilitative process following head trauma. The treatment includes eurological monitoring and assessments in order to examine the cognitive improvement following treatment.

We understand that the rehabilitative process of children, damaged around birth, can be improved by a hyperbaric oxygen treatment. From our experience, adults suffering from CP can also enjoy the benefits of HBOT and gain bodily and cognitive functions after years of non activity.

Hyperbaric oxygen treatment, following orthopedic injuries, actually improves the bone building process and by doing so contributes significantly to recovery. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy significantly reduces the edema in the area of the fracture, reduces pain at the first stage after injury and speeds up the body’s bone building process. The main advantage is with complex fractures for the purpose of avoiding unnecessary future complications.