Technical Divers conducting limited In-Water Recompression

[DevonDiver]

(Please note - poll is for Technical Divers ONLY)

In-Water Recompression (IWR).

A point was raised on another thread that the 2008 DAN Report stated that;

There were at least 40 calls by technical divers having some type of symptoms.... Some callers in this group called after their self-treatment, either with FAO2 (n=8, 20%) or IWR (n=3, 7.5%) failed.....The extensive use of FAO2 and occasional use of IWR by technical divers may partially explain the apparently low incidence of DCS in this group when judged according to numbers reported by recompression chambers.

My questions are:

How popular has IWR become amongst the technical diving community?

Do any SB members have personal experience of this?

Or know other technical divers who have attempted this?

If it has been attempted, was it improvised or was it part of pre-arranged contingency plans?

It is something I have heard debated many times, but I believed to be unworkable without considerable logistics and pre-planning. I am not personally aware of anyone having attempted IWR.

(The poll allows multiple answers)

Please note - this is not a debate on the pros and cons of IWR (that is currently happening on two different threads HERE and HERE).

I just want to know technical diver's personal or first-hand (not ancedotal) experiences of IWR. There is a difference between a direct first hand account and an ancedotal story. Please PM me with any off-topic points about my research methods, poll structure etc etc etc.... posting them here dilutes and deviates the thread.

Definitions:
Failure = persistance of symptoms after treatment. Incomplete resolution.
Omitted Deco = Conducted before presentation of DCI symptoms, to specifically remedy a deviation from the planned deco schedule.
IWR = Conducted after presentation of DCI symptoms, to specifically treat DCI.

My definition of 'failure' comes from the wording of the 2008 DAN report, which introduced the possibility that IWR may be a 'trend' in the technical diving community...

We must recognize that these calls were mostly because the attempted IWR failed. In case
the IWR were successful, diver would not have called to report the event. Thus we do not
know how often IWR may have been used successfully.

 

[Mattleycrue76]

Confessions of a Mortal Diver

 

[Diver0001]

Andy, can you define "failure", please.

I recall a story by .... who was it ... hmmmm ... oh yeah, it was Richard Pyle, where he describes an attempt at IWR which didn't cure his bend but *may* have been enough to save his life... Is that a failure because it didn't cure his bend or a success because he probably would have died otherwise?

As for me, I have no direct experience with IWR. So far (knock on wood), I've been able to do all my deco without having to skip stops. If I *did* have to skip stops (or someone in my team did) and a chamber wasn't available and IWR was an option then I wouldn't even hesitate, which is what I voted.

A friend of mine had an incident once on a wreck that caused him to make a really sloppy ascent early in the dive and he went back down and did 20 minutes at 5 metres but he wasn't over the NDL when the incident took place so I don't think that's the kind of thing you want to know about, or is it?

R..

 

[JeffG]

My questions are:

How popular has IWR become amongst the technical diving community?

Do any SB members have personal experience of this?

Or know other technical divers who have attempted this?

Full blown IWR I doubt happens very much, but "fixing" a little bit of bent probably happens a lot more than people think.

Twice I have had minor pain only hits in an elbow and I "fixed" it the next day, by going deeper and doing a slightly longer deco on O2.

 

[gypsyjim]

I am NOT a tech diver but:
Personally. I suppose you'd call it IWR.
My first encounter with a BCD was a disaster in the making. Early 80's, NO re-training with a BCD at all, just rent and go. Rusty skills, very. You name it. We were young and pretty wild, and in our 20's feeling quite immortal.
On ascent from @75-80 ft lost control because of poor venting and did uncontrolled ascent w/o safety stop. Figured WTH, I'm up now., but serious facial swelling became immediately apparent, to the point my eyes were swelling closed.
I re-dropped on a second tank of air to 20' for @1/2 hr. Only repercussions were horrid facial bruising, which was quite evident in my brother's wedding photos that weekend.

I did not participate in the poll because I am not a tech diver, but thought my experience might fit your scenario.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

While not for DCS I did use inwater recompression to treat a severe reverse block condition. I had a physician on scene and in the water with me after we tried to take care of it with afrin and ibuprofen. It allowed me to make it home from the dive site. So under certain conditions with proper guidance and enough resources ( air, safety divers, etc) yes but as a last resort. If it;s die or get back in the water and the victim understands it as well and agrees then....

 

[The Kraken]

olice: ADVISOR POST olice:

Participants:

Please note that some posts have been deleted.

The deletion of these posts is a result of a parameter established by the author of this thread at its inception, "I just want to know technical diver's personal or first-hand (not ancedotal) experiences of IWR."

The author has requested that all such posts be deleted in an effort to keep the thread as relative to the subject as possible.

Thank you for your understanding.

The Kraken

 

[wedivebc]

Twice I have had minor pain only hits in an elbow and I "fixed" it the next day, by going deeper and doing a slightly longer deco on O2.

I have also done similar but I answered no on the poll because I don't consider that IWR.
I consider that a trial by pressure, pain goes away at depth, you bent something, pain doesn't go away you strained something.

 

[Chatterton]

If IWR does not work, it is obvious, but proving that it works is virtually impossible due to the vagaries of DCS. It is a path of last resort, and only somewhat better than prayer for sinners.

Case #1 is very interesting IWR case studies

Cheers

JC

 

[waterpirate]

I saw iwr used for ommited deco three weeks ago, following a dive.
Divers profile 150 fsw for 35 minutes
omitted all of the 10' stop
Cochran computer was chirping like a bird
Captain ordered the diver off the boat and onto boat supplied 70% to clear computer
No symptoms were present before or after treatment.
Eric