I have been diagnosed with a 2nd Grade Patent Foramen Ovale (PFO). I know I can undergo surgery and have it closed with an umbrella device. Would the surgery be a resolution? Can I dive regularly after it?
[vc_row css_animation=”” row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” angled_section=”no” text_align=”left” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern”][vc_column el_class=”page-text”][vc_column_text]I have been diagnosed with a 2nd Grade Patent Foramen Ovale (PFO). I know I can undergo surgery and have it closed with an umbrella device. Would the surgery be a resolution? Can I dive regularly after it?
Answer from DAN experts:
In accordance with the Swiss Underwater and Hyperbaric Medical Society (SUHMS) guidelines, a diver with 2nd and 3rd Grade PFO can dive according to “low bubble diving recommendations”:
- Perform the deep phase of the dive first and avoid yo-yo dives (avoid repetitive entry into the 0-10 meter zone)
- Reduce surfacing speed to 5 meters per minute in the upper 10 meters
- Perform a safety stop at 3-5 meters depth for at least 5-10 minutes
- Don’t go to the limit of a no-decompression dive – Don’t perform dives with a decompression stop obligation
- Surface interval of at least 4 hours before the next dive
- Maximum of two dives a day
- Avoid intense skin warming after the dive (e.g.: sunbathing, hot shower, sauna)
- Prefer Nitrox Diving, using air decompression tables or computer setting, paying attention to oxygen toxicity
- Special dive computers or software may reduce the risk
- Moreover, to decrease the risk of bubbles transfer into the arterial blood stream:a) avoid strenuous physical efforts during the last 10 metres of ascent, such as swimming against current at the end of the dive.b) avoid exhausting physical activity during two hours following the divec) It is absolutely contraindicated to dive when having a cold. Coughing and forced Valsalva maneuver facilitate bubble transfer into the arterial blood stream.
Nonetheless, the surgery will be effective and after a complete healing you can go back to diving again.
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