Aseptic bone necrosis is a disturbance of bone vascularization that leads to damage and loss of bone structure. Clinically it is manifested as pain and loss of function of the affected joint. There are several reasons for this condition, but in many cases an injury is considered to be the cause of the problem. Besides, the cause could also be gas embolism of bone blood vessels, thrombosis, fat embolism or arterial stenosis. Cellular damage leads to edema and inflammatory response of tissue, with consecutive pain and limited excursions of a joint that are also the leading symptoms of this disease. The most commonly affected are long bones of arm and leg. X-rays and often magnetic resonance of the affected bone are used in the diagnostic process.
HBOT increases partial pressure of oxygen, thus halts further deterioration of bone cells, causes vasoconstriction, lessons edema and enhances perfusion, stimulates neoangiogenesis and osteogenesis, and diminishes pain. The treatment is a long-term but effective. Ameliorating of symptoms is not a hallmark in evaluation of therapeutic success. A confirmation of increased bone density is needed to evaluate the healing process.
