Gastro-esophageal barotrauma in diving: similarities with Mallory-Weiss syndrome.

Mallory-Weiss syndrome (MWS) is a well-defined entity in clinical medicine. However, the development of such a syndrome as a result of overpressure barotrauma of the stomach after repeated shallow-water scuba dives is rare. Also rare is the delayed onset of the MWS, approximately 20 hours after the dives. The causes of development of MWS in connection with scuba diving are discussed. The main causes seem to be the repeated changes of gas volume in the stomach with subsequent pressure forces toward the cardia in the course of repeated dives. The possibility of serious diving accident due to overpressure barotrauma of gastro-intestinal system is also pointed out.