Would Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Save Deion Sanders’ Foot? Spoiler Alert: Probably.

Like Deion Sanders, I am a Floridian who migrated to Atlanta to play sports. Well, that may be a stretch. I came to Atlanta in 1971 to begin my college career at Emory University where I was on the swim team. The Olympics weren’t in my future, but I made my way through medical school and served in the Air Force as a flight surgeon. Some may argue that the Air Force is not as physically demanding as professional athletics, but there’s no question that I was shaped by my service. I began my lifelong love with hyperbaric medicine as a young flight surgeon. I finally made my way back to metro-Atlanta in 1998 when my wife and I fulfilled my dream of opening a multiplace hyperbaric chamber. HyOx opened its doors in 1999, and I haven’t looked back since.

Deion Sanders first came to Atlanta as a Falcon after the 1989 draft, and he joined the Atlanta Braves in 1991. In the early 90s, the Braves were on the verge of greatness, and Deion made the games more exciting to watch. He was an incredible athlete thriving in both football and baseball. Talent like that is rare, and it is magical to witness.

Over the years, his career has continued to spark my interest. However, I was saddened and concerned to learn about the medical issues he is experiencing with his toes and feet. Deion’s team shared an informative look at his medical problems on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypG9dRszbDI&t=3s.

The entire HyOx team seemed to have seen the video or other news reports about Deion’s condition, and I was bombarded with questions about HBO as a potential treatment for Deion.

Here’s the full disclosure: I do not have any additional information about Deion’s condition other than the information contained in the YouTube video and other publicly available articles.

Before I can make a recommendation about the anticipated efficacy of HBO, I need to have a consultation with a patient to obtain a history and physical. In many cases, I need to review lab work and prior surgical reports. Deion’s case is complicated, and I cannot render a medical opinion without completing the normal consultation and medical records review.

However, based on what I know, there are some indications that HBO could be an effective adjunctive therapy. Deion previously revealed that two of his toes were amputated from complications with turf toe and blood clots in his leg. Here is a link to the article in Sports Illustrated.

This is consistent with the discussion in the most recent YouTube video.

Deion likely suffers from a peripheral vascular disorder that impacts blood flow to his legs. Without proper blood flow, Deion’s toes can’t heal. That’s why there are vascular surgeons on Deion’s medical team. Since Deion’s prior surgery did not successfully restore lasting blood pressure to his feet, he may have large and small vessel disease, meaning both the larger and smaller veins and arteries are impaired. Even if the large vessels are repaired through surgery, our bodies rely on small vessels to distribute blood and oxygen from our large vessels to other parts of the body.

That’s where HBO comes in as a great adjunct treatment for cases like Deion’s. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy creates new pathways and blood vessels through a process called angiogenesis. As the body builds its own new vessels slowly over the course of treatment, blood flow is restored to injured areas. The following images show how HBO works to build new blood vessels:

Image 1: Normal Blood Flow. When blood flow is normal, oxygen can reach the tissues where needed.

Image 2: Restricted Blood Flow. If blood flow is restricted, then the red blood cells and oxygen can’t get where they need to go.

Image 3: Oxygen Dissolves in Plasma. With hyperbaric oxygen therapy, oxygen dissolves in the plasma. Now, the oxygen can go places in the body where red blood cells can’t.

Image 4: New Vessels Begin to Form. As the tissues receive more oxygen with hyperbaric oxygen therapy, new vessels begin to form.

Image 5: Hyperbaric Oxygen Heals. Over a course of hyperbaric oxygen therapy new vessels fully oxygenate tissue. With the newly formed blood vessels, red blood cells can do their jobs and transport oxygen. Healing continues even after completion of a course of hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

As the blood flow increases to the areas with poor blood flow, healing occurs. If the problem is with toes, feet, or other parts of the lower extremities, HBO can heal wounds that had not previously healed and save limbs from amputation. If you want to learn more about this and can tolerate graphic images, you can read one of our case studies here.

I hope Deion gets the treatment he needs. Would hyperbaric oxygen therapy help him?

Probably. Why? HBO builds new pathways for blood and oxygen to reach injured areas so they can heal.