Any divers in here?

[almost_hectic]

New to living in Southwest Florida and my plan for the summer was to take scuba lessons, get certified, spend my vacation time on weekend dive trips. That was up until I visited my cardio and found out I'm likely going under the knife rather than under the sea. So now I'm wondering, once I'm on the other side of valve replacement surgery and fully recovered... Is diving something I can still expect to do? Eventually...

 

[skeptic49]

It depends. I asked my surgeon about returning to diving post-op. He told me "no restrictions." So I plan to resume diving after I feel fully recovered. However, I am not on anti-coagulants. I got a tissue valve. I have read somewhere that if you are on Warfarin that is a counter-indication for scuba. You would have to confirm this independently. I would ask the surgeon about your prospects for scuba as well as what you can expect generally post-op in terms of physical ability. For most people who have a full recovery a return to most forms of physical activity should be fine, I would think. Another consideration is for the small minority of patients who require pacemakers post-op. Again, this is something you could run by your surgeon as certain models are rated for pressure, etc. Best wishes!

 

[jhc1]

I had my AVR, with an ascending aneurysm repair two years ago. Like skeptic49, I opted for a tissue valve for precisely this reason…I dive and found that taking warfarin was a disqualifier for scuba. My cardio had no problems with me resuming diving after my recovery. I've since been to Bonaire twice with no problems. Good luck!

Joe

 

[almost_hectic]

Hmm, from what I've found on the web it's not a definite disqualifier unless related to other prohibitive health issues. At the very least I should think you'd be allowed to dive if you had a doctors release... No?

I would likely be on blood thinners as I anticipate my surgeon to recommend a mech valve