Osteomyelitis and diving !

[Big O]

Hey All,

A dive buddy of mine has osteomyelitis in his right leg as a result from a accident over 25 years ago. So far, in nearly 100 dives it hasn't gave him a bit of a problem.

Those 100 dives have all been to a max of about 80 feet. We are planning to do some dives this summer in the Great Lakes that may approach 110 feet or so. He is wondering if the greater pressure at depth would have any effect on his condition. He says he has 2 "pockets" of the condition in his leg.

He is a member of DAN but has not called them yet. I checked DANs website today but didn't find any info on that condition. His doctor here doesn't appear to have any training in dive medicine. I did find in a google search that the condition is sometimes treated in a hyperbaric chamber.

Any insight folks?

Thanks,

Dave

 

[scubadoc]

One would suspect that there would be no contra-indication to diving with this condition - given that there are no signs of systemic infection (fever, tachycardia) and the person is stable under treatment. There is no evidence that going deeper will increase the diver's risk.

There are numerous references in the medical literature of the benefits of HBOT for osteomyelitis - particularly in conjunction with antibiotics and surgery, so pressure in itself would not appear to be harmful.

Bubbles are said to seek areas of deranged blood supply - so this might be the only caveat.