Suggest Treatment For Constant Leg Pain Due To A Blood Clot

Posted on Thu, 20 Mar 2014

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Thu, 20 Mar 2014 Answered on

Sat, 19 Apr 2014 Last reviewed on

Question : .the i have mentioned this before. my husband suffers from perephial vascular diesese. He has had stents inserted and the procedure with the balloon inserted has also been done however, the surgeon had to stop the procedure because a blood clot was found in the bottom of his leg . This all happend 4yrs ago. nothing else has ever been done, no follow ups or scans or anything. he is in constant pain, can only walk 20yards at the most. this all happend at our hospital 14miles away. please what can be done to help

Answered by Dr. Sudhir (7 hours later)

Brief Answer: He needs investigations to know current status. Detailed Answer: Hello, In view of past history, I would recommend evaluation with investigations like color Doppler and CT angiography for current status.After the current blockage and collateral formed are known, doctor can choose among treatment like placing stent, doing angioplasty or considering a complete bypass operation. Old clot might have resolved now.If there are signs of leg inflammation now as well , then the doctor will also have to rule out any acute thrombosis now.Above mentioned investigations can help in that as well. So I would recommend you to see a vascular surgeon who works in dedicated set up for vascular interventions.Till then avoid any undo physical activity.Avoid cold temperatures.Keep him well hydrated.Check blood coagulation status. Hope this helps.Please ask if there are doubts.Regards.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Sudhir (3 hours later)

thank you for your reply. i did forget to mention that the stent &balloon procedure that my husband went through failed, it has made no difference at all to his problem. can we request that he is sent to a vascular surgeon as our doctor does'nt even bother to mention the options open to him. he is told just to keep taking Furosemide & the dose keeps being increased, this is affecting his I.N.R. reading, his legs swell &go hard you can't press them there so hard. fluid retention is all we are being told. he is really fed up as he can't go anywhere due to intense pain. it seems awful nothing is being done. Also to top everthing off he was diagnosed with MOUTH CANCER in Sept 2012. he has had 4 weeks intense radiotheripy. &has to visit his oncologist every 6 weeks to make sure all is ok. the tumor has not returned thankfully. hope this extra info will help you thank you .

Answered by Dr. Sudhir (10 minutes later)

Brief Answer: Yes, you can for referral to vascular surgeon. Detailed Answer: Hello, With those additional symptoms you mentioned, he surely needs specialist care.And if the procedures failed in past , then he might benefit from bypass operation. A primary evaluation with Doppler should be undertaken . so that surgeon can discuss treatment options he can opt for. Since cancer has not returned for more than one year, we can assume that this wont affect decision about treating legs. Hope this helps.Regards.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Sudhir (22 hours later)

i would like to say thank you very much for your help. will make sure my husband gets to see his doctor &asks for vascular surgeon refferal. thank you once again.

Answered by Dr. Sudhir (36 minutes later)

Brief Answer: Thank you. Detailed Answer: It was pleasure assisting you.Please take out time to post a positive feedback.Regards and best wishes for your husbands health.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar