Diving after CAGE

[Belle]

Does anyone have any information about Diving after a mild CAGE accident????

[Cave Diver]

Capillary Affinity Gel Electrophoresis ? ? ?

Cerebral Arterial Gas Embolism

Cerebral arterial gas embolism (CAGE) definition - Medical Dictionary definitions of popular medical terms easily defined on MedTerms

Does anyone have any information about Diving after a mild CAGE accident????

Belle,

Welcome to ScubaBoard. I've moved your post to Diving Medicine where our resident medical people are more likely to see it. You may find it helpful to include a bit more information, such as more complete information regarding the severity, how long ago it happened, circumstances, etc. While it's not possible for them to give you a complete prognosis through this venue, that will help them give you more informed information regarding your situation.

[Bubbletrubble]

What did your treatment team suggest? The physicians familiar with your case would be in the best position to give you a thoughtful recommendation.

Was the cause of the incident discovered? If so, what was it? Has the underlying issue been adequately addressed?
Do any long-term symptoms persist?

We don't have enough information to give you any helpful advice.

[Jax]

Pardon -- I couldn't start a new thread (couldn't click in the title box, and it wouldn't let me create one).

Reference Cave Diver's link above, Cerebral arterial gas embolism (CAGE) definition - Medical Dictionary definitions of popular medical terms easily defined on MedTerms

Definition of Cerebral arterial gas embolism (CAGE)

Gas bubbles traveling and lodging (embolizing) in the arteries that supply the brain with blood (and oxygen).

Gas emboli in the brain can lead to a stroke-like condition with disorientation, difficulty walking and talking, coma, and death.

For example, even a single breath of helium can cause CAGE.

Could someone help me understand that last, underlined and bolded sentence, in conjunction with the trimix / heliox divers breathe? Thanks!

[Bubbletrubble]

Could someone help me understand that last, underlined and bolded sentence, in conjunction with the trimix / heliox divers breathe? Thanks!

@Jax: As you know, by definition, any gas within the vascular system that forms an embolus in the brain becomes a CAGE.

Trimix/heliox divers (vs. divers breathing air or recreational nitrox) may be at increased risk of experiencing venous and/or arterial emboli.

Here's a link to a study that reported arterial emboli in a small group of trimix divers. None of the divers showed symptoms of decompression illness after any of the study dives, but arterialized bubbles were detected frequently.

The precise cause of the arterial emboli in such a population is not known. A high incidence of high-grade venous gas emboli was observed. There are several hypotheses explaining how the bubbles crossed over from the venous to arterial circulation:

• Existence of a functional PFO.
• Existence of intrapulmonary arteriovenous pathways.
• Significant increase (doubled?) in pulmonary artery pressure.
• Existence of small (micro) pulmonary embolizations and inflicted damage to the pulmonary endothelium causing blood redistribution in the lungs. This may induce overperfusion of certain pulmonary capillaries, leading to stress failure and increased capillary permeability. Moreover, increased exposure to hyperoxic conditions may lead to dilatation of large conduit arteries.
• Helium gas may alter the physical properties of intravascular bubbles.

CAGE in trimix divers (and divers, in general) is not well studied.