Medical Questions
Hip replacement surgery and diving
I have recently had total hip replacement surgery. I'm still recovering, but I'm well underway, so much so that I have started bicycle training at least a month ago. The question I'd like to ask you is about diving, which I will start next month. Do I need to make any changes or corrections to the decompression/safety plan used in normal conditions, or is the plan still valid? Are there any temporary limitations to dive times and depth?
Answer from DAN experts:
In such cases, beyond mechanical factors, waiting time is defined by the interval necessary to obtain the optimal osseointegration of the implant. When the surrounding bone will be considered to be in a normal and stable condition, without any significant events of adjustment to the prosthesis and resulting mechanical rearrangement (which must be evaluated by the orthopedic doctor), the local situation with regards to decompression will be considered comparable to that of a normal bone, and therefore the normal diving safety rules will be enough. Diving before this time could cause an alteration in the assimilation and desaturation of inert gases, with unpredictable consequences with regards to local decompression and potentially harmful to the integrity of the implant.
