Question:
Will previously have a blood clot prevent me from having surgery?

I am on theraputic Coumadin daily.    — dawnmaycroft (posted on April 25, 2002)

April 25, 2002
I have blood clots in both legs, and although they are diminishing, I was extremely worried. My surgeon, however, was not. One of the procedures done in my open DS 7 weeks ago was to insert a microfilter into the main artery leading up from both legs to filter out clots! 50 lbs gone in 7 weeks, my legs and my whole body feeling much better! Ask your surgeon, and walk as much as you can to improve circulation pre op.
   — Rhondi S.

April 25, 2002
Please be sure you tell your surgeon. As long as he/she knows, they can be prepared. Not to be scary, but a local lady did NOT tell the surgeon of herself and other family members past history with blood clots, and I am sorry to say she passed away 2 days after surgery because the doctor was NOT informed.
   — Katrina M.

April 25, 2002
Do be honest and tell your doctors as the previous posters have said. They can help you if they KNOW before hand. Best of luck to you.
   — Danmark

April 25, 2002
I agree with making sure your Dr. is informed. This is usually a general question they ask before surgery anyways. I know a friend of my sisters who had an open rny done a year ago and prior to surgery she had a total of 4 blood clots in her health history. She's now down 110lbs. Good Luck.
   — Jennifer F.

April 25, 2002
I have had two occurences of clotting in my left leg over the last 6 years or so. My surgeon (Dr. Leverton, Wylie BTC), made me go have a "Greenfield Filter" installed before she would do the RNY surgery on me. This is a small metal umbrella looking thing with small hooks at the tip of each umbrella spline. Basically,they go in through the vein in your right leg and go up to where your veins from both legs join (vena cava). They then "deploy" this filter at that point. It springs open, and hooks into the walls of the vein forever more. This filter is designed to catch any clots that try to break loose and go to the lungs, and hold them in place until they just dissolve. The procedure is a day surgery, and pretty painless. I would reccommend you go to a vascular surgeon and have one installed. It will give you some peace of mind if you have a history of blood clots. Hope this info helps ya out. Grego
   — Greg P.

April 25, 2002
I had a DVT (Deep Vein Thrombosis) in 1997. By all rights, I should not have lived. I told my surgeon about the clot and I had a greenfield filter placed the morning of surgery. A Vascular Surgeon placed the greenfield right before my RNY. They tried to go through the leg, but it is still pretty much clogged, so they ended up having to go through my neck. The result is the same. I was put under for the procedure and the tiny incision caused me no pain. I would definitely tell my surgeon if I were you. Having the filter placed gives you peace of mind. Open RNY 10/24/01 down 102 pounds.
   — sgibson71