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The not-so-short answer to the OP is: Yes, a small bubble or microbubbles will eventually be reabsorbed in to the system. "Bib bubbles" will also eventually reabsorb as well. The problem comes from the amount of inury and insult all these bubbles will do prior to reabsorption.
Essentially, these bubbles act just like a thrombus (blood clot that breaks free and travels through the body). If the bubble forms on the arterial side of the blood flow, you will have a problem with the organ or tissue that it eventually blocks. The amount of damage is depending on the size of the bubble and the amount of blood flow it blocks. As most know, the original "Bends" came from the formation of these bubbles in the joints where the circulation is a little more complex than a normal artery.
Micro bubble can form in the organ or tissue as well and can wreck havoc on the function of the tissue or organ-the good news is that these bubbles reabsorb the fastest.
If the bubbles form on the venouse side of the circulation, the flow will eventually wind up in the lungs and act as a pulmonary embolism. This will interupt the exchange of gasses in the lungs and can have very rapid and serious life threatening concsequences. This in only one reason why oxygen shold be adminitered to DCS victims.
The rate of re-absorption is depending on so many variables that it would be difficult to explain outside of postdoctorate papers.
Long and complicated answer to the OP's question, so to sum up:
Yes, the bubbles will reabsorb over time but until they do, they will cause ongoing life altering conditions. Recompression is indeed the fastest way to minimize the damage. The best course of action is to think "DCS is some really, really, REALLY BAD(!) Ju-Ju and I will make every effort to avoid it and plan safety factors into my dive planning and diving."
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