Will titanium rod in the leg be affected during diving?

[Searcaigh]

I have been diving for 7 years, done a little technical diving, and have had no problems from the two plates and 20 screws in my ankle, the large plate and eight or ten screws in my knee, the plate and screws in my right forearm, or the plate in my right clavicle.

You must have fun going through airport security systems :shocked2:

 

[Phil_C]

Seek a doctors opinion but do so without any trepidation and if some doctor tells you not to do it seek a second opinion

Ouch ! - I think that is dangerous comment, what is the point of seeking a doctors advice if you are just going to keep asking second opinions until one tells you what you want to hear. What then happens when if it all goes wrong and someone says "but the doctor said it was OK" are you going to apportion blame and sue for being given the wrong advice?

I have no problem with asking for a second opinions, but if the doctors disagree how will you know who is right, ask a whole load and take the best of ten advices? - P

 

[TSandM]

Phil C, unfortunately, I think it is not unreasonable to seek a second opinion when it comes to diving matters, especially if you have done your homework and what you are hearing doesn't jibe well with what you think you already know. Physicians in general receive little to no education on things related to diving, and we are notoriously risk-averse. So it is unfortunately easier to tell someone that they shouldn't do something, than it is to do the research to try to find out if there is any basis for that determination.

 

[Laurie S.]

No problems with my titanium hip replacement and seven screws. However, my real hip gets achy. LOL

 

[tdtaylor]

I think my takeaway is don't ride a motorcycle .

Plate in my hand (from football, not cycling), and never even thought twice about it.

Terry

 

[DivemasterDennis]

Nemrod and mblazer know. I would go with what they say. end of discussion.
DivemasterDennis

 

[Zen Diving Inc.]

9 bolts, plate and probably a surgical tool still left in my leg. Sets all the metal detecters off but works great diving with no issues yet...

 

[Nemrod]

Unlike some of the others on here I am neither formally medically trained nor part the six million dollar man (for those old enough to remember that series) but from the reading of a number of medical papers and research that I have done on the subject I would concur with the general view that the rod and fixings themselves will cause no issues at all. The only risk comes from the surrounding tissue.

As TS&M has said there is some research suggesting that tissue around previous injury sites is less capable of off gassing efficiently and can lead to an increase in the risk of DCI, but this is far from conclusive. The only other risk I can think of is in relation to any new cavities left behind during the surgery. If in the process of installing the hardware any 'new' air spaces have been created and left behind in the bone it is possible that pressure will lead to 'bleeds' or build up of fluids into these cavities whilst diving. It is a bit like when you get a tooth squeeze from a gap behind a filling. However as bone is essentially porous I don't think you will get a squeeze as such, but you could get bruising from the fluids being drawn into the cavity. However if you have been diving without issue so far then I suspect you would have already felt this within recreational depths if it was going to happen. Anyone else got any thoughts/information on this? - P

Since you are not a medical doctor (I am not) and you have no titanium parts (I do), why would you sit around reading about such injuries, that is weird even for scubaboard, lol.

There are no cavities left after the bone has a rod inserted into it. Any voids will be filled with tissue or fluid as the wound heals, bone is living tissue, not a chunk of concrete. Some people, may have the rods removed and there is a difference of opinion on who and why and what constitutes a need for removal. Most, at least in North America leave the rods in. The doctors that I consulted including the one who put it in stated flatly it would have no effect on scuba diving.

Now, if you go onto the interweb and start reading about this stuff you come across all sorts of strange and weird stories but the vast majority of healthy and active people recover to their normal before injury activities including scuba diving.

A bigger concern is for active people, as my doc told me, please break the other leg if I must break another, re-injuring a bone with a rod in it might get ugly. Since he was a bit of a kidder, not sure how much he meant that or not but it does make me protective of my left leg now, .

N

 

[crosshairs]

No issues for me with a rod and 6 screws in my left femur...also from a motorcycle accident.....but reading this thread, one would start to think motorcycles were dangerous or something

 

[Progen]

Jesus, I think if we all went diving together and got eaten by something big, that fish is going to have one hell of an indigestion.

Anyway, my injury was a total fracture of the tibia and fibula so there's a metal rod extending from my knee all the way to my ankle. This is the second one. I broke two of the screws on the first one, a thinner rod with two screws below and two above (the surgeon referred to it as nails) after trying to lead a normal life by walking on it before the bones had time to fuse together properly. It was removed, given to me as a souvenir and according to the doc, the second one's thicker and it's up to me whether I want it removed or not.

Oh, and thanks for the reassurance, guys! May our reinforced bodyparts function better than before.