Diving after elbow surgery - broken elbow (ulna)

[cheekydollar]

Hi all,

Like many here, my doctor hasnt been able to provide me with any advice and was wonderinf if anyone here can help.

I broke my elbow 5 weeks ago today and it was operated on to join the broken bone back together using tension band wiring which involes drilling into the bone so they can attach it.

I have about 85% movemet back in my arm now, but I am wodering if the drilling of the holes is a problem when diving as ive heard things about air bubbles etc forming which isnt good etc....

can anyone advise?

Cheers!

 

[Duke Dive Medicine]

Cheeky,
Unless the circulation to the bone was compromised (unlikely, but your orthopedist can tell you), you should be fine. I would wait to dive until the orthopod clears you for full physical activity. If you have any more questions, PM me your location and I may be able to refer you to a diving physician in your area.
DDM

 

[cheekydollar]

Thanks very much for your reply. I am based in London, but I will not have any time to visit anyone before I travel to Egypt now, but if you have details of someone in london perhaps i could call them. The doctors have not mentioned any complications, and they were happy with the metalwork and the latest xray which I had at 2.5 weeks after the operation.

 

[TSandM]

I had an ulnar fracture and radial head dislocation (Monteggia injury) although I had a different repair, utilizing plate and screws and bone graft. I also had a non-union which required reoperation. Although all of this occurred before I began to dive, I have had no symptoms at all related to the injury or the hardware. I've done some searching, and I can find nothing in the literature describing any consistent association between fractures, hardware, and DCS.

 

[Duke Dive Medicine]

Cheeky,
I can check our database on Monday to see if we know anybody in London.
Cheers,
DDM

 

[DocVikingo]

Hi cheekydollar,

You can try the UKSDMC list of medical referees (Medical Referees) or the London Diving Chamber (Decompression chamber / Hyperbaric chamber for divers with the bends / decompression illness, London Recompression & Hyperbaric facilities - The London Diving Chamber).

Best of luck.

Cheers.

DocVikingo

 

[cheekydollar]

Thanks for all the info guys, its really appreciated. i fly out on sunday so not sure how much i will be able to achieve over the weekend, but it appears that I should be OK, and I have not been told that I cannot scuba dive, so i think I will probably go for it.

I might try to call the London Diving chamber and hopefully they can advise.

 

[CaveMD]

Dive like you normally would and it shouldn't be a problem.