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The modern chamber

With the development of the diving industry in Sinai, the question of purchasing a hyperbaric chamber arose. Through the efforts and at the expense of the divers themselves, the first  chamber in Sharm was purchased. It is far from what we imagine a hyperbaric chamber should look like, although we could see the same in the Cousteau's underwater odyssey series. Designed for one diver and powered by a simple diving tank, it could nevertheless maintain a pressure of 2 atmospheres, and for some time served the needs of divers faithfully.

Old hyperbaric chamber, Sharm El Sheikh

Neither medicine nor diving stand still and it soon became clear that it was time to think about something more modern. In 1993, a modern American decompression chamber was purchased, costing $900,000 generously provided by USAID. The new chamber allowed receiving three victims at the same time. Designed for a maximum pressure of 8 atmospheres, it allowed the diver to dive to 70 meters. The chamber was equipped with a transition airlock, which made it possible to place a second victim even if someone was already inside under pressure. Also, medical staff now has the opportunity to enter the chamber when the patient needs it.

This hyperbaric chamber works properly to this day. About 1200 divers used its services, and were successfully cured of decompression sickness. To manage such complex technical structures, high-level specialists were needed. The pioneer was Dr. Adel Taher (photo), who received his education in the hyperbaric medicine Department at DUKE University in North Carolina, USA. Later, he brought a hyperbaric chamber to Egypt and organized the work of the Hyperbaric Medical Center in Sharm. Now Dr. Adel is one of the world's leading specialists in decompression sickness treatment. He has put more than 1000 divers on their feet and saved their lives.

Today, two doctors are  working at  the hyperbaric chamber. Dr. Adel Taha and Dr. Ahmed Sakr, who, having been educated in Germany, came as a young specialist to practice in Sharm. Dr. Ahmed was amazed by the new field of medicine opened for him. The decision was made! Additional training at NOAA University in Seattle, USA and he began his career in Sharm El Sheikh.

To this day, the operation of the hyperbaric chamber is maintained not without the active participation of the diving community through voluntary donations of $ 1 per day from each diver, which, in turn, are transferred by dive centers to the account of the Sharm el Sheikh hyperbaric medical center. This money did not disappear anywhere and in 2011 the Ministry of Tourism of Egypt decided to use these funds to purchase the latest German hyperbaric chamber worth 850,000 euros, which can simultaneously accommodate up to 12 people. It looks much like a space orbital station, and the control panel is similar to the Dallas Space Mission Control Center!