Anyone have any experience resuming diving post Cervical Surgery? I had C5 and C6 Anterior Cervical Discectomy Fusion on July 23rd, 2018.
I feel great and will be doing physical therapy and building strength back up soon. Looking for anyone who has had similar surgery and how long they stayed out of the water? I'm thinking no back rolls or carrying gear for a while but if I gear up in water and remove before getting back in the boat would be the most important thing.
We usually do a trip in Oct/Nov and I really hope to still be able to do that this year.
Thanks in advance for any advice or experience shared.
~Cathy
I've had two discectomy and fusion surgeries. Combined C2-C7 are fused. First surgery was C2-C6, second surgery added C6-C7. The first surgery I had about 18 months before I ever got certified to dive. The second kept me out of the water for about 5 months. Not because the doctor said no, but it was a tough thing to get through. The doctor cleared me to get back in the water basically as soon as the incision was fully healed. I think 6 or 8 weeks. I just wasn't up for that much physical activity until about the 5 month mark. We talked in detail about the risks of diving, and they didn't think there was much as they didn't create any voids. Actually, the doctors were pushing me to exercise in pretty much any way possible. I was getting physical therapy, but they frequently encouraged me to get back in the water and go diving. I got the same message about that from the physical therapist, my spinal surgeon, general practitioner and pain doc. They all agreed I should get back into diving as soon as I was comfortable.
My surgery came with some significant damage to the cord, they said I was lucky it wasn't completely severed. I had to give up cave diving after the second one. I just can't bend my neck well enough to stay in proper trim for long. Well, I can but it's extremely painful and took any fun out of it. Also the spinal damage made touch navigation on a line super difficult due to loss of sensation in my fingertips.
So.. post-op my trim isn't what it used to be because I've got to break trim to look ahead instead of simply bending my neck - but I'm diving!
As for back-rolls, I think I've only done that once. All the boats in my neck of the woods tend to have platforms designed for giant stride entry. I was repeatedly cautioned by the surgeon about how much weight I should lift during recovery. I dive steel LP108's which are some heavy tanks, but as I said I was well out of recovery before I actually started diving again.
I believe the services provided by dive boats are significantly different in CA than we get in FL (just based on what I read on this site - I've never dived CA). You'll have to ask when you charter a ride what the boat will do for you. In FL it's common for a dive charter to allow you to
remove your bcd while in the water. They'll haul it onto the boat for you and all you have to do is climb up the ladder yourself. That makes things FAR easier. In Mexico, the operator I dive with actually insisted everyone do it this way. Spine surgery or no, it really is a treat having the boat people lift your stuff out instead of climbing up the ladder with all that stuff on.
I've never done it, but you could probably jump in without gear, have them float your bcd over to you and don in the water. That would eliminate the need for your body to carry any significant weight... it all ends up being neutral once you're in the water.
If you still need further assistance, you can look into diving "sidemount". You could use two smaller tanks (google "tiny doubles") such as two al40's or you could just sling one tank on your side (google "monkey diving"). Personally, I find regular backmount with a hard backplate easier. The weight is really on your shoulders anyway, and only while you're on the boat.
Re: cadaver vs titanium. I got titanium (rods c2-c6 and plate c6-c7). I didn't choose, although I think I might have selected titanium. Cadaver parts kind of sounds creepy to me.
