Shyam woke up one day to find the toes of his right leg turning cold and blue. He had diabetes and this was affecting blood circulation to his toes. His doctor amputated the gangrenous toe but the wound would not heal as enough oxygen was not reaching the wound.

At the time when Shyam was afraid that he would not be able to walk, doctors advised him to undergo hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) that involves breathing pure oxygen.

After a few sessions, he was able to walk and perform routine functions. Shyam is not alone. Patients suffering from non-healing wounds, acute thermal burns, traumatic braininjury,radiationdamage totissues,crushinjury,sudden hearing loss and several other conditions are benefiting from this therapy, say experts.

Currently, three hospitals inPuneofferthisformof treat–