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I've sent a reply to your private E-mail already,
but for the board:
 
An oxygen bubble blocks circulation, just like
any other bubble or thrombus. The tissues 
downstream of the block will be deprived of
circulating blood and blood-borne oxygen. However,
as the plasma level of oxygen decreases, a gradient
for re-dissolving the bubble is quickly established. 
 
Inert gas will be slow to re-dissolve. The plasma 
concentration of dissolved inert gas stays higher since 
there's per definition no metabolic use of inert gas. 
Eventually the inert gas bubble causes clotting and 
adhesion of white blood cells as the body tries to 
neutralize this unknown foreign substance. Bubbles 
are treated as germs! 

This is part of the reason why prompt treatment is 
important -- after a few hours the bubble constitutes 
the core of a larger thrombus only, which does not 
respond to recompression. The other reason to avoid 
lingering on your way to the recompression chamber is 
the progressive tissue damage the longer the impaired 
circulation persists. Any hit that you survive will 
resolve eventually, but irreparable damage may ensue 
in the meantime if you decide to tough it out.   

Oxygen, on the other hand, is drawn from solution
continually, ensuring that any oxygen bubble will shrink 
and disappear ASAP. It's a positive feed-back loop:
The more the ischemic tissues crave for oxygen 
the faster the offending oxygen bubble re-dissolves.  


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