The Unseen Journey: Healing After Surgery
When surgery ends, the healing begins.
Whether you’ve had a joint replacement, dental implant, or cosmetic procedure, healing is where your body does its most challenging work. Millions of cells work together to coordinate the repair of tissues, reduce inflammation, and prevent infection. While this process is natural and powerful, it doesn’t always go perfectly—especially if your body is low on oxygen or dealing with extra stress.
That’s where supportive tools like Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) can make a difference. At Michigan Health and Wellness Center, we’ve seen how this non-invasive therapy can enhance the body’s natural repair process when it is most vulnerable, especially after surgery. By increasing the amount of oxygen your tissues receive, HBOT helps reduce complications, speed up healing, and support the body.
In this article, we’ll walk through how the body heals after surgery, what HBOT does inside your body, and how this therapy fits into a whole-person approach to surgical recovery.
What Happens to Your Body After Surgery?
Every surgery, whether minimally invasive or extensive, is a type of controlled injury. The body sees it as damage and begins a step-by-step healing process of predictable and overlapping phases. Here is what typically happens:
1. Inflammation and Clotting
Right after surgery, your immune system jumps into action. It seals blood vessels to stop bleeding (a process called hemostasis) and sends white blood cells to fight germs. This causes the swelling, redness, and tenderness often experienced following surgery. Though inflammation is a normal part of the healing process, excessive inflammation can actually slow healing by compressing blood vessels and limiting oxygen flow. This can lead to an increased risk of infection or a delay in wound closure.
2. Tissue Regeneration
Within days, your body starts rebuilding new tissue. Special repair cells (like fibroblasts) produce collagen—the protein that forms the scaffolding of new skin, muscles, and connective tissues. Epithelial cells begin to close the wound surface. New blood vessels, such as capillaries, grow to restore blood flow to the area. However, this rebuilding process requires one key ingredient to work effectively: oxygen.
3. Remodeling and Strengthening
Once the wound has closed, your body spends weeks or even months strengthening the tissue. It rearranges collagen fibers and builds elasticity to improve the durability and appearance of the repaired tissue. Adequate oxygen throughout this process leads to stronger, more elastic tissue. When oxygen levels are low, this phase can take longer or increase the likelihood of long-term complications such as scarring, stiffness, or chronic discomfort.
Healing does not always proceed smoothly. If you have poor circulation, swelling, or pre-existing conditions such as diabetes, it can compromise oxygen delivery to healing tissues, and healing may take longer than it should. That’s where HBOT can help—by saturating your system with oxygen in a way that is simply not possible through normal breathing.
How Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Enhances Surgical Recovery
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy involves sitting or lying in a sealed pressurized chamber while breathing 100% pure medical-grade oxygen. The air pressure is 1.5 to 3 times higher than normal, which helps your lungs absorb more oxygen than usual. This extra oxygen dissolves not only into red blood cells but also directly into your blood plasma and reaches damaged tissues—even areas with poor blood flow or swelling.
Here’s what that added oxygen does for your healing body:
- Speeds Up Cellular Repair: Your cells require oxygen to produce energy (in the form of ATP), which powers tissue growth, immune defense, and regeneration.
- Decreases Swelling and Pain: HBOT helps lower inflammation by calming the chemicals (like cytokines) that cause it. This can help you feel better and aid in the healing process.
- Fights Infection: White blood cells work more efficiently at clearing bacteria when there is more oxygen. HBOT gives your immune system a boost to fight off germs, which is especially important for surgical wounds or implants.
- Builds New Blood Vessels: HBOT helps your body grow new capillaries and improve circulation through a process called angiogenesis. The body is able to re-establish strong circulation in healing tissues.
- Strengthens Healing Tissue: Oxygen supports better collagen production, which improves tissue quality and enhances the strength and flexibility of skin, joints, and muscles as they heal.
Think of HBOT as giving your body an oxygen-rich “jumpstart” during one of its most vulnerable times.
How Oxygen “Overload” Triggers a Healing Response
Here’s something surprising: Getting lots of oxygen in short bursts—like during HBOT—can actually trick your body into healing more deeply. This is called the hyperoxic-hypoxic paradox. Even though you’re getting extra oxygen, your body reacts as if it just came out of a low-oxygen state. That shift wakes up important repair systems.
During HBOT, your body:
- Activates special healing genes to promote tissue growth
- Releases stem cells to help regenerate damaged areas
- Enhances the production of antioxidants to reduce cellular stress
- Stimulates the growth of new blood vessels
In other words, HBOT does not just supply oxygen—it trains your body to repair itself better than it would on its own.
What the Research Says
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy has been extensively studied in a wide range of surgeries, from orthopedic and dental to reconstructive and cardiac procedures. Here are a few key takeaways from the scientific literature about the evidence-based benefits of HBOT:
- Improved surgical wound healing: A 2020 systematic review showed that HBOT helped surgical wounds close faster and reduced complications like infection and swelling. (Teguh et al., 2020)
- Reduced infection risk: HBOT breaks through bacterial defenses (like biofilms) and boosts the body’s response to antibiotics, making it especially valuable for patients with surgical implants or chronic infections. (Memar et al., 2019)
- Healthier scar tissue: Better oxygen levels mean stronger, more flexible collagen and improved tissue elasticity, which reduces the risk of raised or painful scars. (Camporesi, 2014)
- Improved blood flow: HBOT helps regrow blood vessels in areas with poor circulation, which is common after vascular or reconstructive surgeries. (Hadanny & Efrati, 2020)
Who Might Benefit Most from HBOT After Surgery?
HBOT isn’t necessary for every postoperative patient—but for some, it can make a significant difference in recovery. Ideal candidates include:
- Patients with diabetes or poor circulation
- People who’ve had complicated surgeries or large surgical areas
- Patients recovering from cosmetic or reconstructive procedures who want to optimize healing and minimize scarring
- Anyone who has experienced slow wound healing or infection after previous surgeries
- Patients receiving implants or grafts, where infection or tissue rejection is a concern
HBOT is often most effective when started early in the healing process, but it can also be beneficial weeks or months later if healing has stalled
What to Expect During a Session
At the Michigan Health and Wellness Center, HBOT is a calm and comfortable experience where your safety is our top priority. Here is what a typical session looks like:
- You’ll relax in a clear, pressurized chamber while breathing pure oxygen.
- You may feel your ears pop as the pressure increases, similar to when you’re on an airplane.
- Sessions typically last between 60 and 90 minutes.
- You can nap, listen to music, or simply rest during your therapy session.
- Afterward, most people feel refreshed and notice a reduction in swelling or discomfort.
Depending on your recovery plan, your provider may suggest anywhere from 5 to 20 sessions, with you scheduled several times a week.
Integrating HBOT into Your Recovery Plan
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is not meant to replace your surgeon’s guidance, medications, or traditional medical care. It is a complementary therapy meant to support what your body is already trying to do: heal.
When combined with rest, proper nutrition, wound care, and follow-up care, HBOT becomes a powerful part of your whole-person recovery, providing a boost to the healing process. It’s especially helpful for people with risk factors and complex medical needs.
At Michigan Health and Wellness Center, we work closely with you and your care team to ensure HBOT fits your individual needs. We believe recovery is more than closing an incision—it’s about helping your body regain strength, function, and balance in the most efficient and natural way possible.
Interested in Learning More?
If you are preparing for surgery or you are healing from one now, hyperbaric oxygen therapy could be the tool your body needs to recover more quickly and completely.
To find out whether HBOT is right for your post-surgical care plan, contact Michigan Health and Wellness Center today. Our team is here to guide you through the process and help you achieve the best recovery possible.
Resources
Camporesi, E. M. (2014). Hyperbaric oxygen therapy: A grand overview. Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine, 41(3), 291–299. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25285468/
Efrati, S., & Ben-Jacob, E. (2014). Reflections on the neurotherapeutic effects of hyperbaric oxygen therapy: The hyperoxic-hypoxic paradox. Medical Gas Research, 4(1), 1–9.
https://doi.org/10.1186/2045-9912-4-1
Hadanny, A., & Efrati, S. (2020). The hyperoxic-hypoxic paradox: Physiological and cellular mechanisms behind intermittent oxygen treatments. Biomolecules, 10(6), 958.
https://doi.org/10.3390/biom10060958
Memar, M. Y., Yekani, M., Alizadeh, N., Baghi, H. B., & Kafil, H. S. (2019). Hyperbaric oxygen therapy: Antimicrobial mechanisms and clinical application for infections. Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy, 109, 440–447. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopha.2018.10.064
Teguh, D. N., Harahap, R., Irawan, Y., & Liem, I. K. (2020). Hyperbaric oxygen therapy for tissue healing and surgical outcomes: A systematic review. Wound Repair and Regeneration, 28(3), 399–411. https://doi.org/10.1111/wrr.12782
