Lumbar Spinal Fusion?

[Nancy5972]

Hi @Nancy5972 ,

There is a difference between a traumatic pneumothorax or pneumothorax as a surgical complication as your husband and daughter (respectively) had, and a spontaneous pneumothorax.

Out of curiosity, what reason did the provider give for not clearing your husband to dive? For someone with a history of traumatic pneumothorax, we'd obtain chest imaging and look for scarring in the affected lung that could lead to air trapping. If there was no evidence of air trapping on imaging, we'd typically clear the person to dive provided they were otherwise healthy.

With your daughter, it might depend on exactly what caused her lung to collapse, but diving would not be out of the question for her, provided there's no evidence of air trapping on imaging and she is otherwise healthy.

Spontaneous pneumothorax has historically been a hard "no" for diving, but even that has loosened up a bit over the years and some providers are clearing divers on a case-by-case basis.

Can you share exactly where you are in Canada? Please feel free to DM if you don't want to post publicly.

Best regards,
DDM

My husband pulled out his notes from when he saw the doctor. When the doctor found out he wasn't returning to diving but rather wanted to take it up, he said that's a different story. He said this paper says this person has no conditions contrary to diving and you have had a collapsed lung so that answers that. Before that he said you could go through a high dose xray and radiate your body. I felt like he was a hit of a fear monger although my husband was happy that he did talk to him at length about it. Here in canada it's usually 5 minutes or less.

Talking with my daughter she plans on pursuing this because she really wants to try and doesn't think she will be able to hold her breath as long as her father does.