scuba with a cast! Yay!

[Debbraey]

wetvet once bubbled...
Consider asking your doc for a fibreglass cast. They are stronger, lighter, and waterproof. We use em on dogs, cause they never listen when you tell em not to get their cast wet. I would get it cut off when you get home, and replaced, because the cast padding will be all compressed and bunched. Bouyancy of fibreglass could be an issue too......ankle weight may be helpful.
Good luck.

Wetvet

I was going to suggest the same thing!! They are better known as sports casts. I know as a matter of fact they exsist and that they work. Medical1 suggests maybe cutting it off and wrapping, elevating and ect...There is also always the fall back plan!!
Damn I broke my ankle (I fratured my back 2 weeks before a non-refundable trip to Cozumel) I guess I have got to call this a shore visit for a change...Though I am told what you want to do is possible in many ways...I would suggest highly to get the cast changed to the sports cast a few days prior to departure.
Good Luck!! No matter what you do be sure at least one person who cares knows that you are somewhat compormised and may need some assistance..Just so you have someone prepared to help you in case of need...
Good Luck, Hope it works out for you

 

[Diver Lori]

I broke my ankle diving in the PNW in Aug 2001. We were on a liveaboard and I managed to do the last few dives finless on the bad leg with my buddy towing me. This worked well for a relatively calm dive and my ankle wasn't set yet and was numb from the break for the most part. (didn't know it was broken for sure till we got to port 3 days later in Steveston! Hospital there wouldn't set it and sent me home splinted to the States and my own Ortho)

I was in a cast for about two months also. When they switched me from a regular cast to a walking cast at 4 weeks or so I thought I was gonna die! (well not exactly) When they took the cast off and bent my ankle into the proper position for the walking cast I almost threw up on the head of the PT guy who was sitting on a stool in front of me while I was above him on the table. I'm not a wimp, but the pain was enough to make me really nauseous. I really had to focus and breathe deeply not to be sick. I had my eye on the trashcan at the end of the table in case I needed to get to it in a hurry. Plus all three of my casts were fiberglass. The fiberglass is just the wrapping that hardens by a chemical reaction with water that heats it up and seals it hard. The wrap under the fiberglass is still the conventional wrap that was used under plastar......so you're still going to have an anchor for an ankle once it gets wet.

I really find it hard to believe you'll be able to handle an air splint or any other method other than a really firm immobilization at 4 weeks, much less something you remove and replace yourself. I feel for you as I was really sweating my trip that coming December, and thankfully my doc got me ready in time! (first trip cave diving in Akumal) Initially he thought I would need pins as he couldn't set it in the office due to the break being a week old by the time I got back to the States from BC. If I had to have pins I would have been in the various casts till after New Years. Luckily he was able to set it correctly in the operating room without pins. YES!

You mentioned this is a yearly trip. Do you really want to take the chance of doing some serious damage to your ankle for diving? Some damage that may effect your diving down the road?

I'd really think hard on that and speak with your ortho doc before making a decision.

Plus if you do some more damage your insurance company may tell you "tough luck" and not cover you.

It's been 2 years and I'm pain free and no stiffness. (knock on wood) I've got full movement and hopefully arthritis won't set in anytime soon. I took very good care of it in Akumal and had a helper all to myself for the week to carry my tanks due to the rough terrain in many places. My doc told me before I went that I better get somebody else to carry my kit for his approval, because if I fell with that weight with my ankle fresh out of a cast I could do significantly more damage. I heeded his warning...he knows his stuff.

I had a followup visit with him two months after....took him a picture of me walking the rough road to NaHoch behind the horses as they were faster than me plodding along carefully. (now its practically paved!) And diving the system.....he posted them in his office. Must be his "hero board"....hee hee, "These are the people *I've* fixed and look at 'em now!"

Please please....think very carefully about your decision and get the advice from your ortho before doing the dives.

 

[scubasean]

If I had recently broken my ankle and needed a cast to walk, I wouldn't want to be hauling around 70lbs of scuba gear...

Forget the diving part....Who will carry your gear?

 

[jonnythan]

Diver Lori once bubbled...
I broke my ankle diving in the PNW in Aug 2001. We were on a liveaboard and I managed to do the last few dives finless on the bad leg with my buddy towing me. This worked well for a relatively calm dive and my ankle wasn't set yet and was numb from the break for the most part. (didn't know it was broken for sure till we got to port 3 days later in Steveston! Hospital there wouldn't set it and sent me home splinted to the States and my own Ortho)

I was in a cast for about two months also. When they switched me from a regular cast to a walking cast at 4 weeks or so I thought I was gonna die! (well not exactly) When they took the cast off and bent my ankle into the proper position for the walking cast I almost threw up on the head of the PT guy who was sitting on a stool in front of me while I was above him on the table. I'm not a wimp, but the pain was enough to make me really nauseous. I really had to focus and breathe deeply not to be sick. I had my eye on the trashcan at the end of the table in case I needed to get to it in a hurry. Plus all three of my casts were fiberglass. The fiberglass is just the wrapping that hardens by a chemical reaction with water that heats it up and seals it hard. The wrap under the fiberglass is still the conventional wrap that was used under plastar......so you're still going to have an anchor for an ankle once it gets wet.

I really find it hard to believe you'll be able to handle an air splint or any other method other than a really firm immobilization at 4 weeks, much less something you remove and replace yourself. I feel for you as I was really sweating my trip that coming December, and thankfully my doc got me ready in time! (first trip cave diving in Akumal) Initially he thought I would need pins as he couldn't set it in the office due to the break being a week old by the time I got back to the States from BC. If I had to have pins I would have been in the various casts till after New Years. Luckily he was able to set it correctly in the operating room without pins. YES!

You mentioned this is a yearly trip. Do you really want to take the chance of doing some serious damage to your ankle for diving? Some damage that may effect your diving down the road?

I'd really think hard on that and speak with your ortho doc before making a decision.

Plus if you do some more damage your insurance company may tell you "tough luck" and not cover you.

It's been 2 years and I'm pain free and no stiffness. (knock on wood) I've got full movement and hopefully arthritis won't set in anytime soon. I took very good care of it in Akumal and had a helper all to myself for the week to carry my tanks due to the rough terrain in many places. My doc told me before I went that I better get somebody else to carry my kit for his approval, because if I fell with that weight with my ankle fresh out of a cast I could do significantly more damage. I heeded his warning...he knows his stuff.

I had a followup visit with him two months after....took him a picture of me walking the rough road to NaHoch behind the horses as they were faster than me plodding along carefully. (now its practically paved!) And diving the system.....he posted them in his office. Must be his "hero board"....hee hee, "These are the people *I've* fixed and look at 'em now!"

Please please....think very carefully about your decision and get the advice from your ortho before doing the dives.

I broke my ankle a few years ago... two inches above the base of the fibula. Simple fracture, needed no reducing. Slap on a cast and walk out the ER. I was walking on it at about 3 weeks and had pretty well destroyed the cast by the time it was scheduled to be taken off at 6 weeks.

A lot depends on the nature of the break... with a very simple non-reduced ankle fracture, there's not much that can injure the area once the healing proces begins other than rebreaking the fractured area. With a more serious fracture that requires reducing, there is a lot of soft tissue damage involved.. the healing process is much more complicated and you most certainly can reinjure yourself without rebreaking the fracture.

I'm no doctor, but this is my understanding of it. It might be helpful to know more about the injury itself? Talk to a real doctor

 

[scubajoe]

What wreck are you diving that is that deep? All my diving in Aruba was much shallower.
Whatever kind of cast you have is going to smell like a dead something or other after getting it in sea water! :whoa:
I know a diver that has only one leg and she gets around great.
As to the wisdom of your decision to dive I'm not the guy to judge.
I am still trying to decide if I'm going to DEMA after my upcoming back surgery in the next week or so!
Joe

 

[GQMedic]

Well, besides ricking healing funky, hey, it's your leg, if you can get an inflatable cast and it does not hurt like a <CENSORED> then what the hell?

As far as diving requiring uninjured limbs, or no missing limbs. that's horse<CENSORED> There's an organization out here for the diving disabled, most of these people either are missing legs, missing arms or can't use them at all. For those curious about that, check this out----> http://www.hsascuba.com/

I think the biggest risk here is a fracture healing poorly or malaligned. See your doc, take his/her advice and enjoy your vacation.

 

[zeN||]

Since we all know you are going in the water, you must seal your foot in a plastic bag of some kind, and tape it well enough to prevent water from getting into the cast. I think I would use some kind of silicone, it will hurt a little to peel it off but at least you will also rip the hairs off of your calf in so doing ~zeN||

 

[GQMedic]

Zen,

You are very strange!

zeN|| once bubbled...
I think I would use some kind of silicone, it will hurt a little to peel it off but at least you will also rip the hairs off of your calf in so doing ~zeN||

 

[zeN||]

Not as strange as diving in a cast! zeN

 

[DiverJP]

For whatever its worth. a buddy of mine went through part of commercial dive school with a fractured foot. If I remember correctly, he had a walking cast which he took off for diving.

I'm thinking that finning might subject your ankle to a little more stress or different stress than usual... This all really depends on how fast & how well you heal, not to mention your pain tolerance. Very possible that you could reinjure the ankle, or negatively affect the healing process. The greater risk is probably dealing with the weight of your gear while getting on & off the boat. Ask for help.

As far as protecting the cast, although it would no doubt be unbearably hot for Aruba, have you considered a dry suit? (I have no idea if this is a practical suggestion, I have no experience with dry suits...) So far, sticking your leg in a plastic bag and sealing it really well seems like the best suggestion I've read to protect your existing cast. (Although I wonder whether that would result in some form of "suit squeeze" at depth?) A new fiberglass cast to be replaced when you get home sounds like your best bet.

At any rate, talk to a doctor first & see if they will work with you. You can always go against medical advice, but at least you'll be in a position to make an informed decision.

Your leg, your decision... Just remember, if you want to play, you gotta pay!

(Me personally, I would probably cut the cast off right before I went diving, wrap the ankle for the rest of the trip, and tell my doc that I accidentally got the thing wet at the beach and get a new cast when I got back...)