02.05.2026 10:31
Gülşen Şenol, a 65-year-old resident of Sarıyer, experienced sudden vision loss in her right eye while watching television. Thanks to hyperbaric oxygen therapy applied for a rare retinal vein occlusion, Şenol regained her sight in a short time.
Housewife Gülşen Şenol experienced sudden vision loss in her right eye while watching television at home on Friday afternoon, March 27. She was first taken to Sarıyer Hamidiye Etfal Training and Research Hospital by her family around 18:00, and after examinations, she was referred to the ophthalmology department. It was determined that Şenol had sudden vision loss due to central retinal artery occlusion in her right eye during the checks.
SHE BEGAN TO SEE AGAIN AFTER 14 SESSIONS It was stated that Şenol, who was referred to Seyrantepe Hamidiye Etfal Training and Research Hospital by doctors, urgently needed Hyperbaric Oxygen therapy, a 100% oxygen treatment method applied in a high-pressure environment. Approximately 10 hours after the sudden vision loss developed, Şenol was directed to Lütfi Kırdar Training and Research Hospital and received her first session of hyperbaric oxygen therapy during the night. Receiving 2 hours of hyperbaric oxygen per session, Şenol's right eye began to see again after 14 sessions of treatment. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Selin Gamze Sümen, who oversaw Şenol's treatment, said, "In fact, I can say that hyperbaric oxygen therapy is the most effective and only treatment for such cases. There is no fully curative treatment method found at the moment. For sudden vision losses due to this type of central retinal artery occlusion, we currently get the best and fastest results with hyperbaric oxygen therapy."
"THERE WAS A DARKNESS AND DIZZINESS IN MY RIGHT EYE" Gülşen Şenol said, "My grandson went to school, I turned on the TV. Suddenly there was a darkness, I stood up. I felt dizzy; I sat back down. I can't see near or far anyway; I use glasses. There was a blackness in my right eye. I wiped my glasses, but it continued. When I closed my left seeing eye, the TV was completely black, there was a line at the bottom. I went outside, had my blood pressure measured, I see with my left eye. At that moment, I thought it was related to blood pressure. I couldn't imagine something like this happening in the eye. The pharmacist measuring my blood pressure said, 'Sister, you need to go to neurology immediately. Your blood pressure is fine, this can't be.' When I came home, the kids called; they were going to take me to the dentist. When they said, 'Mom, get dressed and come,' I said, 'Son, I can't come, I feel nauseous, and my eye can't see.' They came immediately; it was 16:00; they took me to the hospital at 18:00. It happened suddenly; it came and went both times, I said, 'Is there something wrong with my glasses?' Because I started seeing with one, but there was mud in the right eye."
"I URGENTLY NEEDED TO START OXYGEN THERAPY" Şenol said, "In the meantime, the kids came and took me to the emergency room. They asked how many hours it had been. I was taken to Sarıyer Hamidiye Hospital. They did an MRI. The doctors said, 'You had a clot in your eye.' They urgently referred me to Seyrantepe. When the eye doctors examined me there, it turned out I urgently needed hyperbaric oxygen therapy. They said if I didn't receive hyperbaric oxygen therapy within 24 hours, my eye wouldn't come back. I started to see the morning after the night I received the treatment. My eye opened halfway, the blurriness went away. With this treatment, I got 100% benefit in my eye. I was very upset, my eye felt much better. I feel more comfortable every day."
"I STARTED TO SEE AFTER 14 SESSIONS" Şenol, also describing that she underwent an eye angiogram after hyperbaric oxygen therapy, said, "I had an eye angiogram, everything was done. When I went for the last check-up from that aspect, they said the vision in my right eye had exceeded 50%, then I didn't go again. After my treatment here is complete, I will go to the eye doctor. If they say 'Continue,' I will come back. After 14 sessions, I started to see very well. I can see. I was only seeing a light below. The light isn't completely gone; it's fully opened up. I can see the ceiling, I can see everywhere now. Those who are like me should definitely inform their doctors and get this treatment. It really, really helped me. I was very upset thinking I wouldn't be able to see. I truly benefited from it. Maybe I am the first, but I saw. I didn't receive any other treatment; I got this treatment here. I started to see with this oxygen therapy."
"IT OCCURS WHEN THE ARTERY FEEDING THE RETINA IS BLOCKED BY A CLOT" Assoc. Prof. Dr. Selin Gamze Sümen, Head of the Department of Underwater Medicine and Hyperbaric Oxygen Medicine, said, "A 65-year-old female patient. One evening during the night shift, she was urgently referred from another public institution with a complaint of sudden vision loss. The patient's diagnosis was evaluated as sudden vision loss due to central retinal artery occlusion. Sudden vision loss due to central retinal artery occlusion is a disease characterized by sudden, painless deterioration in the patient's visual ability. Patients mostly apply to us stating partial blurry vision, cloudy vision, or that they cannot see at all. The main factor in the development of this disease is the blockage of the main artery that feeds the retina or its branches in the retina layer of the eye, by a clot. The retina of the eye is very sensitive to oxygen deficiency. If the oxygenation of that area cannot be ensured in a very short time, the patient's vision loss progresses."
"RECOVERY VARIES FROM PATIENT TO PATIENT" Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sümen said, "The patient's complaint of vision loss started on March 27, 2026. Her first symptoms began in the afternoon. The patient first thought there was a speck or a stain in her eye because she uses glasses; but since it didn't go away after wiping, she was taken to the emergency room of another public hospital with her relatives. After the eye doctors evaluated her in the emergency room, they detected a blockage in the main artery feeding the eye, which we call the central retinal artery, in her right eye. Accordingly, they called the on-call center for the patient to receive hyperbaric oxygen therapy as soon as possible due to sudden vision loss. We were on duty that night as well. The patient applied to us approximately 7-8 hours after the incident, arriving towards midnight. After we performed the necessary examination, the findings matched the diagnosis. We administered emergency hyperbaric oxygen therapy. After the first session, we noticed some improvement in the examination findings regarding hand movements and finger counting. Then we planned for her to receive regular sessions from the next day until today. We have now applied 14 sessions of hyperbaric oxygen therapy to the patient so far. After this, we plan to continue the treatment until the dark area she mentioned in her vision disappears. This can vary from patient to patient. Sometimes it disappears after 20 sessions in some patients, or after 10 sessions in others. We will decide based on the patient's examination findings."
"We hope that after applying 5 or 10 more sessions, nearly all of his vision will be restored," he said.
"OVER 90 PERCENT VISION GAIN ACHIEVED" Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sümen said, "According to the patient's statement, there is almost over 90 percent vision gain. He mentions a very small, moving spot-like darkness. When we examine such patients, we usually divide the visual field into four quadrants—upper two quadrants and lower two quadrants—and check if they can see our hand movements, perceive light, or count fingers. Initially, our patient had some issues; he couldn't distinguish, describing a cloudy, foggy area in front of him. Now, he can easily count our fingers, see our hand movements, and perceive light."
HYPERBARIC OXYGEN THERAPY Discussing the features of the treatment, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sümen said, "Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is a medical treatment method applied by breathing 100 percent oxygen in a closed environment, which we call a pressure chamber, under pressure higher than 1 atmosphere. This treatment actually increases the dissolution of oxygen in the tissues of our body and, if there is a need in low-oxygen tissues, it helps by addressing that need. We apply it in the treatment of various diseases. For example, as we see in our patient, sudden vision loss due to vascular occlusion, sudden idiopathic hearing loss, some diseases with chronic bone inflammation, and patients with wound healing problems due to diabetes or vascular occlusion. We consider one session as one day. Each day a session is attended counts as one session. As the number increases over days, the session count accordingly increases," he said.
"HIGH RISK FOR HYPERTENSION AND DIABETES PATIENTS" Sümen said, "Sudden vision loss due to main artery occlusion occurs in patients with hypertension, diabetes, and atherosclerotic vascular disease. Smoking is a risk factor. It usually affects one eye because we propose that it originates from a clot within the vessel, and depending on the size of that clot, whichever side—right or left eye—the clot moves to, an occlusion occurs there, and complaints related to that eye begin. In fact, I can say that hyperbaric oxygen therapy is the most effective and only treatment for such cases. No surgical procedure can be performed inside the eye, nor can they dissolve that clot with any medication. Currently, there is no completely curative treatment method found. For sudden vision loss due to central retinal artery occlusion, we are currently getting the best and fastest results with hyperbaric oxygen therapy," he said.