Hyperbaric Chamber Saves Physician's Eyesight After Rare Condition Causes Total Blindness in Left Eye

September 30 — PROVO — Charles Gasser, MD, took his dog for a walk last Friday morning. During the walk, he bent over and when he stood up the vision in the left eye went to grey, then completely black. Two hours later, he received the diagnosis of central arterial occlusion, an extremely rare condition that causes complete blindness.

By noon on the same day, Dr. Gasser was in the hyperbaric oxygen chamber at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center. Five minutes later, he started to see light and dark. His vision continued to improve and after seven treatments Dr. Gasser has approximately 75 percent of his vision restored.

Central arterial occlusion is caused by a problem in the vein of a person’s eye. The hyperbaric medicine physicians at Utah Valley Regional have never seen a patient with the condition and Dr. Gasser’s ophthalmologist has only seen four in his 25-year career.