First Doctor Certified in Bend for Hyperbaric Therapy

December 14, 2010 -— Dr. Robert Pinnick has become the first Central Oregon physician to achieve board certification by the American Board of Preventative Medicine as a specialist in undersea and hyperbaric medicine.  

 

This follows Bend Memorial Clinic becoming the first accredited facility in the state of Oregon for Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy in 2009.

 

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) is a medical treatment in which a patient breathes 100 percent oxygen while inside a high-pressure chamber. It’s been used for more than 40 years to help people recover from illnesses such as carbon monoxide poisoning, and decompression illness commonly referred to as “The Bends”. HBOT can play an important role in the treatment of wounds such as diabetic foot ulcers and in patients suffering from serious radiation injury to bladder, bowel, chest or jaw.

 

“At BMC, we have successfully treated a great number of patients using Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy,” said Pinnick. “For many patients these treatments have been life changing and have worked when other treatment options have been exhausted. We have seen HBOT retain limbs of patients and successfully mend deep and dramatic internal wounds and, literally, give our patients a new lease on life.”