Diving with a kidney transplant

[extreme]

I would appreciate any comments regarding diving 5 years after having a kidney transplant. Are there any hazards and can the effects of pressure and nitrogen affect the kidney. Also would medications used to treat anti-rejection cause problems at depth.
Should any depth restrictions be put on such a diver or would it be safe to pursue deep technical mixed gas diving.

Looking forward to your responses.

Extreme out.

 

[DocVikingo]

No doubt there are kidney transplant recipients who dive without incident. However, to the best of my knowledge this has not yet been researched. As such, diving medicine can only make educated guesses.

Issues that need to be considered include the extent to which:

-the recipient is in a good general state of health & vigor

-the transplant is without residual complication and kidney function is normal

-immunosuppression renders the recipient susceptible to infection or injury. For example, the marine environment is rife with pernicious microorganisms and the changes in pressure inherent in scuba can cause injuries, such as barotrauma to the ears & sinuses, that can provide entry for them. And, some immunosuppressive agents can cause changes in the lungs that impede the movement of gases and may predispose to pulmonary barotrauma.

-scuba promotes dehydration through diuresis & other factors, thereby stressing kidney.

Because so little is known about diving after organ transplant, conservative dive schedules & profiles are prudent. Deep, technical diving is not conservative.

This is educational only and does not constitute or imply a doctor-patient relationship. It is not medical advice to you or any other individual, and should not be construed as such. Seek clearance from you physician before diving after kidney transplant. You or your doctor may submit questions to DAN at (919) 684-2948 (Mon thru Fri, 9AM-5PM EST), or e-mail a DAN Medic at http://www.diversalertnetwork.org/c...sp?re=Medicine.

Best regards.

DocVikingo

 

[jlyle]

I have a dive buddy who is a kidney recipient. Email me and I'll put you in touch with him. The main concern that he and his wife have is the possibility of infection from foreign travel.

 

[cudachaser]

with a Kidney transplant....doctor gave him a clean bill of health.

This guy is also a commercial pilot ... flies jets!

 

[ssra30]

One issue I would be careful about but not neccessarily preclude scuba diving is the location of the transplanted kidney.
Most people have the trasplanted kidney place on the right lower cornor of the abdomen and the kidney is usually easily palpable.
It is the same area where you would fasten the BC's velcro strap over. Just be careful not to fasten it too tighly as the kidney can be prone to mechanical damage from compression etc. One the other hand if you don't fasten your BC tight enough, the BC could bang back and forward as well which is not good either. Best thing to do is buy your own BC (not rental) and find one that fit you comfortably and hopefully something that the straps do not go over your transplanted kidney (if possible). May be one of those backplate/wing that have straps that go around your groin area rather than the waist, sorry I am not completely up to date on all the BC configuration beside my own jacket style one. Your diveshop should be able to help.

Dehydration needs to be avoid at all cost because cyclosporin or FK506 definitely will make your kidney more susceptible to dehydration however this is easily avoidable if you take all the neccessary precaution and drink plenty of fluid before and after the dive.

Infection is always something to worry about as DocVikingo mentioned.

Just a thought...