Osteonecrosis - ever heard of it?

[serambin]

While diving with a group from the local dive shop, one member, and age 60, who has dove professionally and also does rig dive for game, showed me a 15" long scar caused, according to him, by Osteonecrosis or bone death. The cause of which is damage to bone marrow inflicted by bubbles in the marrow (a very slow compartment) receiving damage from deep repetitive dives over years. He said that it is starting to show up in many older Navy divers.

Has anyone heard of this and if so, what the deal?

Stan

 

[adurso]

While diving with a group from the local dive shop, one member, and age 60, who has dove professionally and also does rig dive for game, showed me a 15" long scar caused, according to him, by Osteonecrosis or bone death. The cause of which is damage to bone marrow inflicted by bubbles in the marrow (a very slow compartment) receiving damage from deep repetitive dives over years. He said that it is starting to show up in many older Navy divers.

Has anyone heard of this and if so, what the deal?

Stan

Osteonecrosis is the death of bone due to interrupted blood supply, it generally occurs in the end of large bones.

 

[serambin]

Osteonecrosis is the death of bone due to interrupted blood supply, it generally occurs in the end of large bones.

Would that be caused by embolisms caused by bubbles in the arterial blood supply created by DCI?

 

[adurso]

Would that be caused by embolisms caused by bubbles in the arterial blood supply created by DCI?

I am trying to recall the material I have read on it, it seems to be a problem for saturation divers moreso than any other group. To answer your question, I do not see why not. Anything that interrupts the blood supply, slow bubbles, embolism, trauma, plaque in the vessels, and so on will contribute.

 

[TSandM]

It has been primarily a problem of commercial divers, and is thought to be due to bubble emboli interfering with the blood supply to the bone.

 

[serambin]

It has been primarily a problem of commercial divers, and is thought to be due to bubble emboli interfering with the blood supply to the bone.

I guess the real question is how do we prevent this in long time rec divers (like, for instance me)? Is it an issue? And finally, after 40 + years of diving, why have'nt I heard of it before?

Stan

 

[Gary D.]

I guess the real question is how do we prevent this in long time rec divers (like, for instance me)? Is it an issue? And finally, after 40 + years of diving, why have'nt I heard of it before?

Stan

It's very rare for a rec diver to get the amount of dives and or duration of dives to suffer a lot of the military or commercial ailments. And there are a bunch of them.

Diving for 40+ years with 200-500 dives won't cause you any headaches. Less time with more dives might.

Gary D.

 

[knotical]

http://www.scuba-doc.com/Dysost.htm

http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=96586

 

[Nemrod]

I guess the real question is how do we prevent this in long time rec divers (like, for instance me)? Is it an issue? And finally, after 40 + years of diving, why have'nt I heard of it before?


I have heard of it, it is here in my notes from my NAUI scuba certifcation in 1966.

It is not considered an issue with recreational divers of which all of us are including the tech divers.

N