Collapsed Lung

[fooks]

Me and my girlfriend have been diving for a year now and have around 20 dives logged. When she was born her right lung collapsed. Since then she has never had any problems with her lungs or breathing. When we were certified she did have a full physical to see if it would be a problem and her doctor said no. The thing is her doctor is not a diver. My question is can the collapsed lung from birth stop her from diving or should she just take extra precautions?

If i have not provided enough info please let me know.

 

[wheezy]

Not a problem... man o man where to start.

When I was 12 I had a major accident.. broke my sternum and 4 ribs and punctured BOTH my lungs.. spent about a year in the hospital..... 20 something surgery's later I was O.K.

major complications occured when the medics were not properly equiped with a proper sized airway (helicopter evacuation) ... major damage to the vocal chords (thus the nickname wheezy).. reconstructive surgery on them and countless laser surgery to remove scar tissue...

Never had any issues from depth or anything... just have to go a little slower as my airway is still partially restricted and I have a tendancy to get winded easily, but recover quickly as well.

NOW: STEP IN HERE DOC... if it was caused by some crazy disease or genetic physical problem it could potentially be a problem.. however seeing that it's been so many years I doubt she would have even the slightest problem.. and given that fact that she's been at it for a year already... if she was experiencing pain of any kind I would be concerned

 

[scubadoc]

Hello 'fooks':

Perinatal pneumothorax (collapsed lung at birth) is seen fairly frequently and usually indicates some underlying lung problem. Managed adequately at birth, they rarely ever leave any residual problem that has to be dealt with later in life, although there is the possibility of pleural adhesions and trapped air.

Since your friend's doctor has given the go ahead and she has already dived without difficulty, there should be no reason why she should not continue - given the information provided. I don't believe that any extra precautions are needed, unless she is worried and then a spiral CT scan could possibly show up any blebs (blisters) or air-trapping. More about perinatal pneumothorax at http://www2.medsch.wisc.edu/childrenshosp/sicknewborn/t-PPPIE.html

scubadoc
Diving Medicine Online
http://www.scuba-doc.com