During the last decade, the recreational diving community demonstrated a renewed interest in deep scuba diving. In spite of instructional agency decree, increasing numbers of divers are answering the call of the deep. Mixtures of helium, nitrogen, and oxygen were used to extend scuba diving depth beyond 800 feet. This paper explores individual motivations, physiological responses, and diver res...

With the rapid development of skin, scuba, and saturation diving, the medical profession and established diving organizations have made a concerted effort to inform diving enthusiasts of the potential dangers one may encounter in the aquatic environment. However, the phenomenon of thoracic squeeze is only cursorily discussed in recognized diving texts, and a review of recent diving literature f...

A fit young man sustained a ruptured diaphragm during a recreational scuba dive three months after undergoing an uncomplicated laparoscopic Nissen fundoplication for gastro-oesophageal reflux disease. It is proposed that this rare occurrence was attributable to gastrointestinal barotrauma. The injury was treated by laparotomy, mobilisation of herniated abdominal viscera back into the abdomen, r...

The literature on scuba divers' pulmonary oedema (SDPE) is reviewed, especially in its relationship to other immersioninduced pulmonary oedemas. It is concluded that although the three forms induced by swimming, freediving and scuba diving have some features in common, there are significant differences in their demographics, causation and clinical management. The swimming-induced cases tend to ...