Can Custom Forehead Implants Absorb Helium?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I have a question regarding custom forehead implants. I’m a saturation diver which basically means we live in hyperbaric chambers for a month at a time at depths at up to -300metres. We breath helium so we saturate our bodies in helium/oxygen. Would these implants be ok absorbing helium and decompressing as such. Would there be any complications?  Obviously if the implants holds any gas on the way up to the surface there’s going to be huge complications.  Have you ever had experience with saturation divers and implants in the past. Just want to make sure it is indeed safe.

A: Good question… that is a new one although not the first diver who has had a skull/forehead implant in my practice. Solid silicone is a highly-cross linked polymer which would not absorb any gases that are circulating in your blood stream. That is not possible from a material and soluble gases standpoint. 

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana