In early June, 42-year-old Tyler set out to improve his fitness and develop a healthier lifestyle. Normally walking around 8,000 steps weekly, he pushed himself to 10,000 steps daily, and began lifting weights at the gym.
“On the first day, I felt a strain on the top part of my calf, but I didn’t think it was a big deal since I wasn’t in pain from it,” says Tyler. “I kept going throughout the week and by the fourth day, I knew something wasn’t right when my leg began to swell.”
A Surprise Diagnosis
When Tyler saw the swelling, he immediately went to a local urgent care, where a physician advised him to elevate his leg and ice it, with the warning that a blood clot might be a possibility if his condition didn’t improve. The physician scheduled a follow-up for Tyler four days later, but a day after following the doctor’s advice, Tyler grew concerned when the swelling did not go down. Tyler struggled to walk even one hundred steps without experiencing pain in his calf, so he headed to the emergency room at MemorialCare Orange Coast Medical Center.
A CT scan performed in the emergency room revealed a massive blood clot that extended from his left leg up to his pelvis region. The blood clot measured at 48-centimeters long.
Blood clots are gel-like masses formed by platelets and fibrin (protein) in the blood to stop bleeding. When an injury occurs, clots are crucial for preventing excessive blood loss. However, when clots form inappropriately inside blood vessels, they can lead to serious health problems.
“We immediately tested Tyler for blood clotting disorders – or hypercoagulable states – to see if he has a condition that makes his blood form clots too easily or excessively,” says Christopher Yi, M.D., vascular surgeon, MemorialCare Heart & Vascular Institute at Orange Coast Medical Center. “His tests did not come back positive for a hypercoagulable state, and we know that it was not the exercise that caused his blood to clot. While we don’t know why Tyler developed a large blood clot, we are glad we had a treatment plan for him.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as many as 900,000 people in the United States develop blood clots annually, and clots are responsible for approximately 100,000 deaths each year.
There are two types of blood clots, arterial clots (form in the arteries) and venous clots (form in the veins) – venous clots can cause conditions like deep vein thrombosis.
“Deep vein thrombosis is a serious condition where a blood clot forms in a deep vein, typically in the legs,” says Dr. Yi. “It can lead to severe complications if left untreated, including pulmonary embolism – where a blood clot travels to the lungs – and long-term issues like chronic venous insufficiency, resulting in persistent swelling, skin changes and even venous ulcers.”
In Tyler’s case, the venous clot extended through major veins in his body, his left external and common iliac veins, and into the inferior vena cava. Due to the location and extent of his clot, Tyler was diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis.
New Technology Gives Tyler a Second Chance
Tyler was promptly put on blood thinners to manage the clot. Given the urgency of his condition, Tyler underwent surgery using the ClotTriever® System, a mechanical thrombectomy device designed to treat the full range of acute and chronic deep vein thrombosis through a minimally invasive procedure.
MemorialCare Heart & Vascular Institute at Orange Coast Medical Center specializes in advanced, minimally invasive procedures to help patients manage their conditions and improve their quality of life. Orange Coast Medical Center has the newest hybrid interventional suite in the area, allowing performance of the latest cardiac and vascular interventional procedures with fewer complications, less scarring and faster recoveries.
“Our mission at MemorialCare Heart & Vascular Institute at Orange Coast Medical Center is to find the best possible treatment for every patient who walks through our doors,” says Dr. Yi. “The ClotTriever System is relatively new to our hospital, and it has allowed us to treat more complex vascular cases and reduce our patients’ recovery times.”
This specific system uses a catheter-based tool that allows the physician to insert the catheter into a vein slightly above where the clot is, and then deploy the catheter. The coring element and mesh collection bag attached to the catheter expands to ensure it gathers all of the clot.
The ClotTriever System allowed Dr. Yi and the surgical team to effectively clear the clot with a small incision, avoiding a stay in the ICU and thrombolytics (clot-busting drugs), significantly reducing Tyler’s recovery time compared to other treatment plans. The overall surgery took about an hour since Tyler’s blood clot was the largest Dr. Yi has ever treated.
“Dr. Yi gave me three different options to treat this blood clot in my leg, but he felt confident that the ClotTriever System was the right fit for me, so I said, ‘Let’s do it’,” recalls Tyler. “My recovery went well, and the entire staff was really great. Staying in the hospital is never fun, but everyone made it easy and comfortable. I spent a lot of time joking around with the nurses and trying to laugh my situation off. There are many hurdles in life, and this was just another one of them.”
Since his procedure was minimally invasive, Tyler was able to go home two days after his procedure and is now getting back to his daily routine.
“Dr. Yi has me on blood thinners, but I feel back to normal,” says Tyler. “I have a follow up in two months and I’m just making sure to keep moving around. This hasn’t slowed me down or stopped me.”
The Power of Listening to Your Body
While Tyler is now on the mend, his experience underscores the importance of listening to your body and seeking medical help when something feels wrong. Early intervention can make a significant difference in outcomes, preventing potentially life-threatening complications. For anyone embarking on a new fitness journey, Tyler’s story is a powerful reminder to proceed with caution and pay attention to the signs your body sends you.
“It’s important for people to know that if you start experiencing acute calf pain, cramping and leg swelling, please see your doctor for an evaluation,” says Dr. Yi. “These symptoms could be a potentially life-threating blood clot. Tyler may have saved his life by listening to his body and seeking help from our medical team when he did.”