Question:
Have your or has anyone you've known experienced post op blood clots?

If so, then please share your experience here. Your contribution will help educate people researching the risks of surgery.    — ericklein (posted on February 5, 2000)

March 30, 2000
I havde WLS on 3/6/2000 and on 3/8/2000, I was rushed back into surgery for internal bleeding and a blood clot in my lung. My hospital stay was 9 days rather than 5. My healing and pain are worse, i think, due to having beeen opened twice (abdominal muscles are hurting badly). I am grateful to be alive.
   — lisadiehl

May 2, 2000
Yup, spent about a month in the hospital. Multiple pulmonary emboli topped off with an adverse reaction to tPA ("clot buster"). Some of the little suckers calcified and took up permanent residence. Painful, devastating complication that could happen to anyone; fortunately it doesn't.
   — s M.

September 8, 2001
I experienced a pulmonary embolism about 2 weeks after my open RNY. At first, I had severe pain in my left side, which was from fluid on my lung. The doctor drained it and 2 days later, I experienced the pulmonary embolism in my right lung. The pain began mildly enough, on the right side, about waist level. It spread to my right shoulder and right chest. The pain increased in intensity to the point that I was screaming with every breath I took. Fortunately, I was still in the hospital. Nurses began giving me morphine every hour. The pain continued for about 12 hours. Of course, with so much morphine, my blood pressure bottomed out, and my heart went into atrial fibrilation. I lived through the experience, praise God, but hope to never experience that again. I am now on cumaden, a blood thinner, to keep clots from forming. I am up now at 3:30 a.m. due to pain in my right side, once again. I am just praying that it is not the beginning of another embolism.
   — Kay J.

November 15, 2001
My open RNY was 9/6/01. 4 hrs. after surgery I was up walking and walked often after that. Compression hose, heparin (blood thinner) injections in my belly, doing EVERYTHING I was supposed to do... released 9/10/01. Developed a cough a couple of days before 2 week check up. Then felt like I "pulled a muscle" in my right rear ribcage, when trying to "contain" a cough. Could "reproduce" the pain by touching the area... was convinced it was a strained muscle... so was my surgeon. Hurt like crazy to breathe... September 24, at 11 pm I "knew" I was suffocating and if I didn't get help I would die. Don't know how I knew... but I knew. Called surgeon's answering service, he called back within 5 minutes. Described my symptoms: shortness of breath, extremely painful, bloody sputum when coughed, weak, dehydrated... he calmly, but forcefully told me to immediately call an ambulance and inform them that I had suspected Pulmonary Embolism. I did. He contacted my local hospital had ER ready for my arrival, called back my home to let us know... Ambulance arrived...immediately put me on OXYGEN (praise God!) stuck me 8 times before finding vein for IV (dehydrated), and promptly whisked me to ER. Upon arrival I was expected to move myself on to a bed, the nurse took the OXYGEN off, and the ambulance attendant repeatedly told her I needed it. She had not been in the "pulm.embolism" information "loop"... the DR. came in and immediately "seriousness" prevailed, Heparin IV , "don't move - we'll move you", etc... they took very good care of me. I had two extremely large emboli blocking off my pulmonary arteries... if I lived the next 6 - 8 hours then I should be okay... 9 days in ICU... 2nd day Vena Cava Filter (umbrella) inserted, pain, pain, pain... morphine, demerol didn't really affect the pain much, just changed my attitude about it! :) 6 days in CCU... NO PAIN for 2 days! THEN, lower pain in both lungs (on scale of 1 - 10 - 10 being unbearable was 8-9) Scarey. New lung scans. What was found was remarkable improvement! Where the clots had moved (lower portion of lungs) is where I hurt, but I was getting BETTER and FAST! Pain is not always a bad thing! I am now 4 weeks out of the hospital. My energy is at about 75%! (from my 1st physical therapy project being taking an assisted shower and sitting half-way through! @ 20% energy) I have reviewed my medical history and blood clots were always a possibility! At 29 I had a TIA (mini-stroke), at 34 I had a thrombotized (large, hardened blood clot) vein removed from my left thigh...I had HISTORY! Looking back, I should have made certain my surgeon knew this part of my history! I am convinced, however, that the RNY has saved my life, and IS NOT the culprit! My Dr.(lungs) attributes the "deep vein thrombosis" as 95% the reason... all I know is that I BREATHE! I LIVE! My physician and nurses and God's merciful answer of many prayers from my family and hundreds in my church family is the ONLY reason I am here, 54 lbs lighter and decorating for Christmas! (November 15, 2001). Morbid obesity created horrible co-morbidities... I am now becoming healthier than I've been in 39 of my 45 years! God bless.
   — blank first name B.

October 22, 2002
I had an Open RNY 8/14/02. I don't have a family history for clots, but did have my best friend die 6 days out of the hospital after his Open RNY. I expressed my concern to my surgeon, and he promised to take precautions. The first night in ICU, I ask the nurse if the compression boots were "on". She tugged on them and said they were. The next morning the surgeon came in and said he wanted me up and walking as soon as possible, but wanted an ultra sound of my legs to rule out any clots. I was moved to a recovery floor that evening, and again asked the nurse if the compression boots were working, if the pump was "ON" she checked and said no, the pump wasn't working right. So I went the first night and day with out those working. Every day the surgeon would come in and ask if I had been out of bed yet, and I would say "no". He'd ask if they had come in to do the ultra sound yet, and I let him know they hadn't. Finally on the 4th day, at 1 AM the tech came in and woke me up to do the ultra sound. I could tell he was in a bad mood about having to do it at 1 AM, and I feel he did a really poor job. He even left, and I still had the gell all over my legs. I had to call a nurse to come wipe off my legs. Later that morning the surgeon came in, asked if I had been up, and then asked if they did the ultra sound. I told him about it, and he said it hadn't even been charted. He went and found out the report, which was "Inconclusive". He then said I HAD to get up, which I was more than happy to do. I got to take a shower, and then the physical therapist came in to walk me down the hall. We went about half way down the hall, and I said I really wanted to go back to my room. I sat down on my bed, looked at the PT and said I felt really dizzy. He said I then collapsed and quite breathing. My mother just arrived to visit me as they were wheeling the crash cart into my room, and she said there were about 15 people there working on me. They couldn't insert an emergency airway, and were performing cpr. After I was resusitated, I was moved to ICU for another 3 days. I am on coumidin for 6 months, and beside that "Little Episode" I feel great. My surgeon and I both agree that if we weren't being SO CAUTIOUS, and the staff had followed his orders in a timely manner, that it probably wouldn't have happened. I truely feel that if I had just gotten up and walked around that first morning, like he normally has his patients do, I would have been okay. Would I do this again? Even though I am only 10 weeks post-op, I am donw 75 lbs and feeling great. Yes I'd do this again!!!!!!
   — Ken M.

October 30, 2002
13 days post Open RNY surgery I was awakened at 4:00 a.m. screaming with severe pain in my right side - as if someone shoved a spear in my lung! I was not able to lie down again due to the pain, so I slept in a chair. I was having some other strange side effects from the surgery involving nerve issues so thought this might be one of those. Not until 2 days later did I cough up any blood. I called my Doctor and had an x-ray done which revealed nothing (not unusual I undestand). All this time I felt like I was breathing through a wet rag and had shortness of breath. 2 days later, as rolled out of bed, my right leg was very painful to put weight on (that turned out to a clot). I went to the hospital and they did an ultrasound which was inconclusive. Back home I went and the next day, awoke with pain in my upper left lung and spitting up blood. I went to the hospital and they did a Venogram, a painful procedure. The radiologist came out and said "You have two clots in your lung." I replied: "Let me tell you where they are - one in my right lower lung and the other in my left upper lung." He said I was correct. They put me on IV morphine, heparin and antibiotics, with strict bedrest, and I stayed in the hosiptal for 10 days (and lost no weight while there). I am on Coumadin now and have had no other problems.
   — wilson W.