Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT)

Clinical hyperbaric oxygen therapy in a multiplace chamber treating up to 10 patients simultaneously at 2–3 ATA. Used for wound care, decompression sickness, carbon monoxide poisoning, crush injuries, necrotising infections, and radiation injury.

SGH's Hyperbaric & Diving Medicine Centre delivers clinical-grade hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) in one of Southeast Asia's most established hospital-based programmes. The multiplace chamber can treat multiple patients simultaneously, supervised by hyperbaric medicine specialists throughout each session. Treatment is conducted at pressures of 2–3 atmospheres absolute (ATA), equivalent to a depth of 10–20 metres underwater, during which patients breathe 100% pure oxygen via a transparent hood or mask. This dramatically elevates dissolved oxygen in plasma and tissues — up to 15 times normal levels — promoting angiogenesis, antimicrobial activity, reduced oedema, and accelerated tissue repair. The centre's primary clinical focus is problem wound management, including diabetic foot ulcers, venous leg ulcers, and post-surgical non-healing wounds that have failed conventional treatment. Other indications include: decompression sickness and arterial gas embolism (diving accidents, for which the unit maintains a 24-hour emergency hotline at 6222 3322); acute carbon monoxide poisoning; crush injuries and traumatic ischaemia; necrotising soft tissue infections (including Fournier's gangrene) as an adjunct to surgical debridement and antibiotics; compromised skin flaps and grafts following reconstructive or cancer surgery; and late radiation tissue injury (osteoradionecrosis, radiation cystitis, radiation proctitis). The centre follows UHMS (Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society) approved indications and operates within the SingHealth clinical governance framework. A standard HBOT course comprises 20–40 daily sessions of approximately 90 minutes each, five days per week. Patients are typically referred by their attending specialist — a wound care physician, infectious disease specialist, vascular surgeon, or oncologist — though self-referrals can be accommodated via an initial consultation appointment. As a public hospital service, fees are subject to MOH-regulated subsidies for eligible Singapore residents and PRs, with Medisave claimable for approved indications. Foreign patients are seen at private rates. All sessions are medically supervised, making this facility suitable only for patients with genuine clinical indications — it is not a wellness or elective HBOT provider.