Medical Questions
Knee surgery and diving
I am an instructor and one of my students, who is already Advanced Open Water certified, had to undergo surgery through "arthroscopy at the left knee, partial lateral meniscectomy, lysis of the outer patellar tendon of the left knee", when will she be able to start scuba diving again?
Answer from DAN experts:
Since the surgery involves a joint that is very susceptible to decompression problems, it is necessary to wait until the local situation shows no signs of distress or inflammation, and there are no symptoms or functional limitations, even in the event of strenuous physical activity involving the limb in question. Much will depend on the outcome of the surgery and the success of the rehabilitation, but it is plausible to expect a period of no less than a month in the best case scenario (personally I consider this difficult). The surgeon who did the operation and the physiotherapist are the specialists who will be in charge of evaluating that a full recovery has taken place, and that there is the possibility of resuming normal activities, including training and sports. It is always appropriate, after long periods of illness/recovery to have a good general check-up to confirm that one is fit to dive before resuming scuba diving activities.
