Pneumothorax question

[jbundy19]

I've searched the board and can't find a suitable answer. My girlfriend and I want to get into diving, but I don't know if she will be able too. I don't want to get her hopes up before I know with the best answer I can if she can or can't. She had a collapsed lung when she was about six years old. It was from an asthma attack that was brought on by a severe allergy to cats. She has had no asthma attacks in a really long time and is fine as long as she stays away from cats. I don't think she will be running into any cats underwater though. The problem is that the collapsed lung wasn't fully repaired for reasons we don't know why without seeing medical charts. So it was only half inflated and is pretty much not being used. She says when she goes to the doctor they can hear air wheezing on that lung and always ask if something is wrong. I couldn't find anyone who has dived after having a collapsed lung and it not being fully repaired. Is it hopeless for her to be able to dive? We plan on seeing a doctor prior to diving, but I would like an answer before I get her hopes up and push on with it.
Thanks
Joe

 

[DevonDiver]

I recently had a student who had suffered a major lung injury (gunshot wound), but was permitted to dive. It had 'healed' - but I don't know what definition of 'healed' is used when considering scuba diving. The lung may be fully functional...but the presence of scar tissue may predispose to barotrauma on ascent when on scuba?

 

[ScubaRich]

Call DAN for a Doctor skilled in diving medicine.

 

[ScubaDocER]

The concern that I have is that the doctors are still hearing wheezing when they listen to her. That suggests that she is having symptoms of asthma at the time they evaluate her or that she has a lesion in her lungs that did not repair itself and has left her with a persistent wheeze. If that is the case then I personally would not suggest that she dives until she gets evaluated by a Pulmonologist. The wheezing suggests air trapping, which can lead to barotrauma on ascent and another pneumothorax. The air in her lungs must be allowed to escape when she ascends. If she were injured at the age of 6 then her injuries should have healed by now. If the resultant healing has left her with a persistent wheeze, then this is cause for concern. You do not need both lungs to breathe. You do need for the lungs that you have to be healthy in order to dive. Healthy meaning that they are able to allow for gas exchange particularly at varying depths. Before you suggest diving to her, help her to arrange an evaluation with a Pulmonologist with the express concern both for the wheezing and its impact on her ability to dive. Once the integrity of the lungs are determined, then she can assess her risks for diving.

 

[TSandM]

I completely agree with ScubadocER. If the lung has remained partially collapsed, something is wrong with it. If you have obstructed air passages, that's a setup for arterial gas embolism. We lost a highly experienced technical diver in a mine a couple of years ago because he had an undiagnosed lung cancer that was causing a ball-valve obstruction in a bronchus, and on ascent, he developed AGE. Her problem needs to be evaluated before she tries diving, even in a pool.

 

[jbundy19]

Thanks for the information, it was more for confirming what I wanted her to do. I do have concern for her outside of even diving, but obviously she has lived with this for a long time before I knew her. We will probably make an appointment soon to see what we can find out.
Thanks again for the replys.