Young man with severe wound from surgery and Crohn's disease heals with wound care and hyperbaric oxygen therapy

When complex wounds are slow to heal, it can put your entire life on hold. That’s what happened to Ryan when he was 17 years old, a senior at Oratory Prep School, and struggling with aggressive complications from Crohn’s disease.

“Crohn's disease is a type of inflammatory bowel disease that may affect any segment of the gastrointestinal tract,” says Ryan’s doctor, Robert Roland, DO, medical director of Wound Healing and Hyperbaric Medicine at Atlantic Health Overlook Medical Center. “Symptoms often include abdominal pain, diarrhea, fever, abdominal distension and weight loss. Complications outside of the gastrointestinal tract may include anemia, skin rashes and wounds, arthritis, inflammation of the eye and fatigue.”

Ryan was first diagnosed when he was just 11. For most of his young life, he managed bouts of severe gastrointestinal problems, loss of appetite, low energy and weight loss. His body generally responded to treatments from his specialists — until the disease escalated.

Disease complications cause sudden decline

“I started having intense flareups that caused serious effects on my body,” says Ryan. “Inflammatory bowel disease had caused abnormal tissue growth and recurrent infections. I was in a lot of pain and went from doctor to doctor to figure out what was going on. It was one of the lowest points in my life.”

That year, Ryan missed his entire senior year of high school dealing with severe symptoms of Crohn’s disease. And despite multiple procedures and weeks at a time in hospitals, his condition only seemed to worsen. The inflammation and treatments had left large rectal wounds, fissures and abscesses that simply wouldn’t heal.

Adding advanced wound care and hyperbaric oxygen to the care plan

That’s when Ryan showed up in the office of Dr. Roland. In addition to ongoing wound care, and after discussion with Ryan’s pediatric gastroenterologist, it was decided to try to add hyperbaric oxygen therapy to Ryan’s treatment plan.

“When we introduced hyperbaric oxygen therapy, we saw a marked improvement in the healing of Ryan’s chronic wound,” says Dr. Roland. “After 13 weeks in the oxygen chamber, along with standard wound care, we saw a nearly 60% reduction in the wound size and a nearly complete closure of the wound by 16 weeks.”

Spending hours in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber

For those 16 weeks, Ryan underwent 40 90-minute hyperbaric oxygen chamber sessions three to five times a week, and his wound responded.

“Normal room air is about 21% oxygen. In the hyperbaric chamber, pressurized to two atmospheres, Ryan was breathing in over 200% oxygen,” says Dr. Roland. “This extra oxygen is absorbed by the body, especially in areas with poor circulation and damaged tissue. It helps promote healing, fight infection and reduce inflammation. Basically, it allows stubborn non-healing tissue to repair itself.”

Collaboration that brings results

Along with regular hyperbaric treatments, Ryan continued his standard wound care therapies with an orchestrated medical team. His gastroenterologist, colorectal surgeon, dietitian, infectious disease specialist, hematologist and mental health expert all played roles in the healing process.

“It wasn’t just one thing, it was everything working together,” says Ryan, who’s now 25 years old and still applies what he learned from his medical dream team to keep his disease under control.

“Dr. Roland made me feel hopeful and believe that I could recover from this. The nurses and staff helped brighten some of my darkest days. And all my specialists helped me get to where I am today. Plus, my family was with me every step of the way — especially my mom.”

Paying it forward in a health care career

Today, Ryan is managing his symptoms well. The chronic wounds that once defined his life are behind him, but they’re not forgotten.

Instead, Ryan’s health journey has heightened his interest in a health care career. He is now studying to become a physician assistant and is currently finishing his clinical rotations.

“This experience taught me empathy in a way you can’t really learn otherwise,” he says. “Now, when I’m working with patients, I try to bring the same level of understanding and compassion that I was given into how I care for them.”