Treatment of necrobiosis lipoidica diabeticorum by hyperbaric oxygen

Necrobiosis lipoidica diabeticorum is a chronic cutaneous complication of diabetes mellitus with microangiopathy as an important pathophysiologic factor. Because of the known success of hyperbaric oxygen in the treatment of chronic non-healing wounds, we used this mode of therapy to treat a diabetic patient with ulcerated necrobiosis lipoidica of 7 years' duration, refractory to medical and surgical treatment. The patient received daily sessions of hyperbaric oxygen therapy. There was considerable improvement during the course of the treatment, with complete closure of all the ulcerations after 98 sessions. The success of this treatment emphasizes the role of hypoxia in the pathogenesis of the lesion. This simple and safe treatment method may be a good solution for patients with chronic nonhealing necrobiosis lipoidica which fails to respond to other therapeutic approaches.