Unusual frostbite treatment saves student's toes

February 20 — PROVO — When BYU freshman Marty Smithson left his dorm with some friends on a sunny afternoon in January, he never imagined he’d be on a dive in the hyperbaric chamber at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center by midnight. A series of unfortunate events led him to this high-tech treatment that many feel saved his feet.

Raised in Florida, Smithson decided to wear shorts, running shoes and a hoodie to hike Y Mountain with his new dorm mates. The clothing did not offer the proper protection when the group got lost and ended up walking in knee-deep snow after nightfall.

When they finally returned four hours later, Smithson insisted the others take him to a doctor because he was in extreme pain and his shins were bleeding from scraping against frozen snow. Fortunately, the students found the Intermountain Orem InstaCare minutes before it closed and the doctor on duty was Marc Robins, DO, an experienced emergency care provider and director of Wound and Hyperbaric Medicine at Utah Valley Regional. 

Dr. Robins was pleased Smithson came in so quickly. If the 17 year old had waited until the next morning, permanent damage may have been done to his toes and feet. The decision to seek medical care that night gave Dr. Robins a chance to use the hyperbaric chamber to assist in restoring proper circulation to the appendages.

Smithson was immediately started on a blood thinning agent to improve flow and his parents were contacted. Dr. Robins said using hyperbaric oxygen therapy isn’t standard treatment for frostbite, but something that’s been tested with good results.

“This is an investigational use of hyperbaric medicine, but we didn’t have any better options and I felt he deserved the best chance to try and save his toes,” he said. The treatment worked and Smithson began to recover feeling and color in his toes after five days of twice daily hyperbaric oxygen treatments.

Smithson’s mother, Steph, said she supported the decision to try the hyperbaric chamber even though it was an unusual approach.

“I had an initial period of fear and anxiety when Dr. Robins said Marty might lose his toes, but Dr. Robins is very knowledgeable and never gave us false hope about what the hyperbaric dives could do,” she said. “We’re grateful the hyperbaric medicine team is available 24 hours a day at Utah Valley Regional and Dr. Robins was the one working that night. My son’s outcome may have been very different without both of those things.”

Dr. Robins warns that local residents shouldn’t be fooled by the unusually warm winter weather. “Even in mild temperatures, it’s always unsafe to be caught outdoors without adequate winter clothing. More deaths from hypothermia occur in temperatures in the 50-60 degree range than in lower temperatures,” he said.

Smithson’s semester is different than he imagined as he moves around campus on crutches and undergoes weekly medical treatments on skin grafts for his damaged left shin. Although his pain continues, his feet were saved, his prognosis is good and he’s looking forward to leaving for his LDS mission to Spain in July.

He also learned a valuable lesson from his experience. “Make sure you know where you’re going before you go off on a hike and if a group is suggesting something you feel might not be the best idea, don’t be afraid to say no,” Smithson said.