Plastic surgery recovery begins before the first incision and continues long after the operation ends. The body must respond to surgical trauma, swelling, temporary changes in circulation, and the increased metabolic demands of tissue repair. Because oxygen plays a central role in wound healing, collagen production, immune activity, and the formation of new blood vessels, improving oxygen availability can be valuable throughout different stages of recovery.
At The One Plastic Surgery, Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy may be incorporated before or after surgery to support tissue oxygenation and create a more favorable healing environment when recommended by Dr. Siamak Agha, Chelsea Zisek, PA-C, or the clinical team.
It may be considered for patients undergoing facial surgery, extensive body-contouring procedures, liposuction and fat transfer, or other procedures where additional recovery support may be beneficial.
The practice’s medical-grade chamber reaches up to 2.0 ATA, increasing the amount of oxygen available to the blood and tissues under pressure. Rather than using one generic protocol for every patient, treatment timing is adjusted around the operation, the extent of surgery, patient mobility, healing progress, and individual clinical goals. Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy sessions may be used proactively as part of recovery optimization or more selectively when tissue healing requires additional support.
Pre-operative Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy is designed around a simple idea: increase oxygen availability before the tissues undergo surgical stress. Research on hyperbaric preconditioning has explored how controlled hyperoxic exposures may influence antioxidant defenses, inflammatory signaling, and tissue tolerance to subsequent stress, although the exact clinical value varies by setting.
At The One Plastic Surgery, pre-operative Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy may be scheduled 1 to 5 days before surgery. A common pre-operative recommendation is 1 to 3 sessions, depending on the procedure and clinical recommendation. This is not required for every patient, but it gives the team an additional recovery-support option before more extensive surgery.
After surgery, swelling, tissue manipulation, long incisions, liposuction, flap elevation, and changes in local circulation can all increase the metabolic demands placed on healing tissue. Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy increases dissolved plasma oxygen and can raise oxygen availability in tissues even while swelling or temporary microcirculatory changes are present.
The published aesthetic-surgery evidence is still developing, but it is no longer limited to theory. A 2023 facelift study reported shorter mean wound-healing time in the Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy group, and a 2024 aesthetic-surgery cohort reported favorable recovery observations and a low complication rate. A 2025 evidence-based review concluded that Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy has potential as an adjunct in aesthetic medicine while emphasizing the need for stronger standardized trials.
The timing is procedure-specific rather than arbitrary. According to the practice’s clinical protocol:
Dr. Agha performs complex body contouring, revision surgery, breast reshaping, fat transfer, and facial procedures in which the amount of tissue affected can be very different from a small, isolated operation. At The One Plastic Surgery, Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy is particularly discussed for extensive body procedures, facial procedures, liposuction and fat transfer, and other situations where additional healing support may be beneficial.
By increasing the amount of oxygen available to healing tissues, Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy may help support tissue repair, collagen production, new blood-vessel formation, swelling reduction, and the body’s natural defenses against infection. These effects help explain why treatment may be useful not only when healing problems develop, but also as part of a broader recovery plan after more extensive surgery.
Several of Dr. Agha’s pioneered procedures use the patient’s own living tissue as structural support or augmentation. These include the Internal Dermal Bra breast lift, breast autologous flap augmentation, and buttock lifting or augmentation with fat pads. Unlike injected fat, these tissue flaps remain connected to their own blood supply as they are repositioned, making healthy blood flow and oxygen delivery especially important during healing.
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy has an established role in helping support grafts and flaps when their blood supply becomes compromised. The Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society recognizes Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy for compromised grafts and flaps, where increasing oxygen delivery can help support threatened tissue while circulation recovers.
For Dr. Agha’s flap-based procedures, this makes Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy particularly relevant as an additional recovery tool. It may be incorporated when the clinical team believes greater tissue oxygenation could support healing, and it becomes especially valuable when there is concern about the blood supply or health of the repositioned tissue. Because treatment is considered in relation to the specific surgical technique and the way the tissue has been moved, this is very different from using Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy as a generic wellness treatment.
Liposuction can create widespread tissue trauma, swelling, bruising, and inflammation across the treated areas. Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy increases oxygen availability within the tissues and may be incorporated into recovery to help support tissue repair, reduce swelling and bruising, support inflammation recovery, and promote a more favorable healing environment after liposuction.
Fat transfer adds another consideration. Once fat is transferred to a new area, the transplanted fat must establish a new blood supply in order to survive long term. Because oxygen delivery and the growth of new blood vessels are important to this process, researchers have also investigated whether Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy may help support fat-graft survival.
At The One Plastic Surgery, Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy may therefore be considered after liposuction and fat-transfer procedures both to support recovery in the areas treated with liposuction and to optimize the healing environment in areas receiving transferred fat.
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy does not replace Dr. Agha’s postoperative examinations, wound care, medications, compression, mobility instructions, nutrition, or other recovery measures. Its value is that it can be layered into a comprehensive plan when the team believes additional oxygenation and recovery support may be useful.
Not every patient needs Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, but it may be beneficial for any plastic surgery patient, including patients whose recovery is progressing normally. The potential value depends on the procedure, extent of surgery, individual health factors, recovery goals, and clinical recommendation. At The One Plastic Surgery, it is especially worth discussing after extensive body procedures, facial procedures, liposuction and fat transfer, and whenever additional healing support is desirable.
Yes. The One Plastic Surgery may schedule treatment 1 to 5 days before surgery, commonly as 1 to 3 pre-operative sessions when recommended by the clinical team.
The timing depends on the operation. Facial-surgery patients may begin as early as the following day when cleared. Lower-body patients often begin around postoperative day 3 to 5, once they are more mobile and cleared by the team.
Yes, in selected patients. The practice may treat patients while drains remain in place when Dr. Agha, Chelsea, or the clinical team determines it is appropriate.
Compromised grafts and flaps are an established hyperbaric indication. Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy is used as an adjunct when tissue is threatened by reduced perfusion or hypoxia, not as a substitute for surgical evaluation or correction of a mechanical problem.
Sources and further reading:
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Overview
How Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Works
What to Expect of Your Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Treatment
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy for Longevity and Anti-Aging
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy for Wellness & Recovery
UHMS — Compromised Grafts and Flaps — Professional guidance distinguishing compromised flaps from normal, uncomplicated flaps.
Francis & Baynosa — Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy for the Compromised Graft or Flap — Review of mechanisms and clinical use in threatened grafts/flaps.
Neel et al. — Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy After Facelift — 2023 comparative facelift study.
Aguilar et al. — Hyperbaric Chamber Usage in Aesthetic Plastic Surgery — 2024 postoperative aesthetic-surgery cohort.
Fisher et al. — Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy in Aesthetic Medicine and Anti-Aging — 2025 evidence-based review.
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