Sinus Puncture!!

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Tiro_Afila

Tiro_Afila

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Location
Terrace B.C. Canada
# of dives
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OK, Im so totally ticked off. I just started diving this year, and I absolutely love it. I actually just finished my OW cert 2 weeks ago. I have a dry suit on order, and have been reading up and trying to decide what BP/W setup Im going to buy, and have my mask fins etc all ready to do. Then I have a dentist appointment, and guess what....
my tooth was too near my sinus wall, and I now have a PUNCTURED SINUS. Dentist says I should wait 6-8 weeks before diving, and he might as well have punched me in the stomach. Anyone else ever had a punctured sinus, and if so, how long did it take to heal. I live in the Northwestern part of BC, and basically I will be forced to either wait till spring now, or see if I can find anyone to go winter diving with me, and even in the summer, the water under the thermacline is 40 degrees.....AHHHHHHH

Is there a Doctor in the house???
 
I'm not a dentist, but his advice sounds right to me. You definitely don't want sea water getting up into a sinus through a small opening, and then growing all kinds of fun stuff up there. Sorry about the wait!
 
Man, that sucks. Sorry about that. However, I'm not a doctor either, but I definitely second TSandM. With stuff like this you don't wanna mess, as there may be a chance that if you don't give it the time it deserves, you'll run into trouble when diving and that could put you out of the water for much, much longer than just a couple of months, if not forever. And that would suck way more, wouldn't it? Hope you get well soon.
 
I had to take several weeks off from diving last August (prime diving season!) due to an unexpected appendectomy. Trust me, I feel where you're coming from. However, I'd much rather sit out a few weeks than deal with the alternative...

The water will still be here when you're all healed. :)
 
Let me first clarify that I am a dentist. That said, I am offering only an opinion not advice.

Upper second molars are notorious for creating sinus perforations on removal. Odds are that is the tooth that you had removed. Removal of other upper teeth can also cause sinus perforations.

If there was a certainty that you would retain your mask during the entire dive and not have it kicked off or lose it in other ways the sinus perforation should not be a factor on a dive.

BUT! And this is a very big BUT! Should you lose your mask, on your first attempt at inhalation of air from your regulator water would go into your nose, into your sinus, into your mouth and down into your lungs because of the direct communication that now exists between the sinus and mouth.

Don't dive until you are absolutely certain that the opening has healed!

Topside the main inconvenience is that you can't suck anything through a straw or smoke because the hole won't let you develop any negative pressure in your mouth.
 
SO the sinus wont be damaged by the pressure while diving? Im not saying I am going to dive right away, but my gums where stitched, so I think in 2 or 3 weeks, there would be no way for water to get through this opening. The only concern I had was that the pressure in the sinus would cause the sinus to be stressed to the point that it would rupture. Basically, if I can equalize above water pain free, then this may not be an issue? Not looking for a medical advice, only an informed opinion. Thanks
 
Tiro_Afila:
SO the sinus wont be damaged by the pressure while diving? Im not saying I am going to dive right away, but my gums where stitched, so I think in 2 or 3 weeks, there would be no way for water to get through this opening. The only concern I had was that the pressure in the sinus would cause the sinus to be stressed to the point that it would rupture. Basically, if I can equalize above water pain free, then this may not be an issue? Not looking for a medical advice, only an informed opinion. Thanks
Click to expand...

I'll dive there in the winter. I'm coming throughin late Feb/early March.
 
Tiro_Afila:
SO the sinus wont be damaged by the pressure while diving? Im not saying I am going to dive right away, but my gums where stitched, so I think in 2 or 3 weeks, there would be no way for water to get through this opening. The only concern I had was that the pressure in the sinus would cause the sinus to be stressed to the point that it would rupture. Basically, if I can equalize above water pain free, then this may not be an issue? Not looking for a medical advice, only an informed opinion. Thanks
Click to expand...


In a typical situation the opening is not stitched. Just left to heal on its own unless it is a very large opening. If your sinus perforation was sutured tightly closed I could see how you might injure or reopen the perforation on either ascent or descent if you dive too soon. Sutures may have been placed there just to secure some loose gum tissue from the extraction and the perforation may have been left open in which case the hazards I mentioned in the previous post would exist for a while. Ask your dentist/oral surgeon what he actually did with the sutures. If he did suture the perforation closed it seems like you could get back to diving quicker than if it were left open.

One way to tell if the opening is still there is to pinch your nose closed and, with our mouth open [GENTLY!!] attempt to blow air out your nose. If the opening still exists you may be able to hear or feel air escaping through the extraction site. Dentists will often place their mirror at the socket while the patient does this to see if it fogs up the mirror.

Sounds like your dentist is a good one to even notice the sinus opening, especially if it is small. There are probably lots of people out there that have teeth removed with sinus perforations and neither they or the dentist notice -- and things heal up just fine anyway
Be careful.
 
I'm sorry to hear of your experience and I'm sure you can't wait to get in the water with all that new gear. I would too. But since its happened try to accept it. The good news is that most of the oceans have been here for a long time and will likely still be here 6 to 8 weeks from now (barring an enormous meteor strike).
 
Thanks guys. I am a pretty fast healer, and have no more pain in my sinus. I can equalize fine without feeling any pressure or pain, and have had a few really good sneezes without any pain. This weekend Im going to go out and snorkle a bit at a lake nearby to test out my dry suit. Ive never used neoprene seals before, and want to see how they seal. I am thinking by the weekend after Ill be ready to go for my first "post op" dip with my scuba gear.
 
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