I think there is a big difference between redoing missed stops and treating clinical DCS, so let's deal with that first.
Most technical agencies have some kind of protocol for "fixing" missed stops. If the gas were available to do that and the diver was able to do it, then I wouldn't even hesitate to take the diver back down and try to un**** his/her stops.
Secondly, there is a difference between DCS hits. Some of clearly life threatening and some can be treated to some extent with oxygen. I've read a couple of accounts from divers who have tried in water recompression where the hits were severe enough that they probably would have died if they hadn't tried it. In such a case, if my options were "try it or die" then I would try it. In that case, you literally have nothing to lose if it doesn't work.
There is also something to be said about planning on a thread like this. If you are going to be taking on severe decompression obligations in a setting in which a diver cannot be evacuated to a hyperbaric chamber within a matter of hours then there ARE alternatives. For example, there are portable recompression chambers available that could allow a diver to be treated on site or even transported to a professional facility while inside the chamber. If the dive is so important that it must be attempted with a huge risk that a diver could die if they surface with unfinished stops then the team COULD plan for that. In other words, if they don't plan for it when they are making big dives in remote locations, then that's kind of lax, in my opinion. Another alternative for planning could be to make smaller dives! nobody forces a diver to make a huge dive in a remote location. That is also a choice.
So to me the issue isn't only about try it or don't try it. Problems can be avoided and contingency plans can be made as well and that must be a part of any discussion about in water recompression.
R..
