Diving after heart surgery - Mitral valve

[Khrissi]

Difficult one this. Partner now having heart surgery. Experienced diver >700 plus dives. Deep Technical diver also. 56 years old. Not had Covid but vaccinated. Leaking Mitral valve, getting new seal put in,previously fit 104lbs. So.

A) possible to dive after a full recovery?
B) Dive Drs examination obviously before diving.
C) Precautions whilst diving EG depth and duration.

Comments gratefully received.

K

 

[Doctor Rig]

My experience….not a problem.

 

[DanBMW]

Check with DAN (the other one) and then go from there.. See Below..... Lots of simular threads too..

 

[Duke Dive Medicine]

Difficult one this. Partner now having heart surgery. Experienced diver >700 plus dives. Deep Technical diver also. 56 years old. Not had Covid but vaccinated. Leaking Mitral valve, getting new seal put in,previously fit 104lbs. So.

A) possible to dive after a full recovery?
B) Dive Drs examination obviously before diving.
C) Precautions whilst diving EG depth and duration.

Comments gratefully received.

K

Hi @Khrissi , theoretically yes, with the caveats that you already outlined - clearance for full physical activity and an evaluation by a diving referee. UKDMC page linked below.

Medical Referees - UKDMC

UKDMC,

www.ukdmc.org

Best regards,
DDM

 

[Khrissi]

Is what I needed to hear, thankyou. K

 

[Andre171]

This can't answered in short.
If his sternum is sawn open (sternotomy) he can no longer lift heavy. The sternum is a flat bone and never grows back together. Only wires and gristle hold it together. These wires can actually break under stress. "Light diving" without much heavy gear should be ok (e.g. put the tank on in the water first). This is not the case with a lateral minimally invasive heart surgery, imho it is possible to dive after. Of course, the scars inside must have healed!

 

[captain]

I had triple bypass at 54 twenty two years ago. Never heard of the sternum not fusing back together, I dive doubles and I lift weight, heavy weight with no problem

 

[Hojo in SC]

Bones will fuse back together, however, there are a small percentage that do not (called a non-union). Now days in addition to wires, the surgeon often put in a plate or two (with screws) to help hold the sternum together.

That being said, I wouldn't lift anything heavy until the chest x-ray shows a full union of the sternum.

 

[Andre171]

There will no new bone build up at the sternum, only (strong) cartilage. Never seen a screwed plate at my clinic, but knowing its existence.

I had triple bypass at 54 twenty two years ago. Never heard of the sternum not fusing back together, I dive doubles and I lift weight, heavy weight with no problem

Sound like a superb recovery! How long you did wait with diving after the surgery? The sternum fuses only by cartilage - no new bone material.

 

[captain]

There will no new bone build up at the sternum, only (strong) cartilage. Never seen a screwed plate at my clinic, but knowing its existence.

Sound like a superb recovery! How long you did wait with diving after the surgery? The sternum fuses only by cartilage - no new bone material.

12 months.

Sternal Healing after Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting Using Bilateral Internal Thoracic Arteries: Assessment by Computed Tomography Scan

This study aimed to investigate sternal healing over time and the incidence of poor sternal healing in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery using bilateral internal thoracic arteries.This study enrolled 197 patients who underwent ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov