PFO testing in the area ?

[annlaur]

Planning on going to Coz for 3 months in February, but I want to get tested for PFO as I got a DCS hit last year. There's a 2 month waiting list at the public hospital here in Paris… Anyone knows if I can get PFO screened on the island (or in Cancún) and how much it would cost ?
Thanks.

 

[cvchief]

For the rest of you who went, "Huh?" like me, apparently this is it: DAN Divers Alert Network : Patent Foramen Ovale - Is It Important to Divers?

 

[mstevens]

I can't believe Dandy Don hasn't mentioned this, but...

If I were trying to figure this out, I'd give DAN a call. This is right up their alley, and I'm sure they can give you a referral.

Dr. Piccolo (meditur@meditur.org) might be able to direct you, as well. He directs a hyperbaric chamber on the island.

 

[MMM]

Thx CV chief. I wondered if a PFO was anything like a WTF.

 

[DandyDon]

I can't believe Dandy Don hasn't mentioned this, but...

I'm not much on mornings.

If I were trying to figure this out, I'd give DAN a call. This is right up their alley, and I'm sure they can give you a referral.

I think he means DAN America as they would have more info on North America than your home DAN. You might prefer emailing them.

 

[cvchief]

At first I thought it was Partial Fiesta Obstruction and I thought, oh my that is SERIOUS!

 

[terrylowe]

Wow! 3 months to get a PFO screen? What screening tests do they do there in Paris? Cardiac echo? Trans-esophageal echo (TEE)? TEE with bubble study?

Since most divers have bubbles, and a high number of divers have PFO, then the best question is not whether or not you have a PFO, but IF you have a PFO, is it allowing bubbles to cross?. Just knowing whether you have a PFO or not would not be very helpful. In that regard, I would suggest asking for a TEE with bubble study. There IS debate on whether this line of testing is necessary in a recreational diver. Was your dcs hit a hard one?

Just to confuse the issue more, there is some research suggesting that bubbles are only a part of the picture.

 

[annlaur]

Sorry, I thought all divers knew what PFO was. Anyway, I had a somewhat unexplained type 2 DCS hit last year, which required two chamber rides on the island. My dive doctor here in France wants me tested for PFO, the cardiologist (who is also a dive specialist) has already done a basic echography, now he wants me to have a TEE (not sure if it's with or without bubble study).

Problem is, he told me to ask for an appointment at one public hospital here in Paris which supposedly is used to handling that specific dive-related screening, unfortunately, it's a popular place for all types of cardiac issues, so there's a 2 month waiting list.

I'm going back to see my cardiologist next week, to see if he can recommand some other place, or discuss an alternative (such as not getting screened now but diving as if I had been diagnosed for a small PFO, ie one short and shallow dive a day using Nitrox and air tables).

A friend of mine is on the island now and knows Dr Piccolo, I'll ask her to talk to him about the possibility of doing a TEE with bubble study there.

 

[Mawg]

Bon Chance.

 

[Pelagicsal]

Ah... You covered my suggestion - which was to see if Maria couldn't find out more. Good luck!

When are you arriving in Feb? Maybe we'll finally get to meet...