What is Deep Venous Thrombosis?

Thrombosis refers to the formation of a blood clot. Deep venous thrombosis (DVT) refers to clot formation in a vein deep in the body.  They are most common in the lower extremities such as leg, thigh, and pelvis.  A DVT can develop into a very serious condition, if the blood clot dislodges and travels through the blood stream and becomes trapped in a blood vessel of the lungs.  This clinical entity is known as a pulmonary embolism.  A pulmonary embolism can restrict blood flow to the lungs and can be life threatening.

Diagnosis

Evaluation will include history and physical examination for the findings consistent with DVT.

• Echography, especially Doppler, has offered a painless noninvasive alternative for diagnosing this problem.
• Venography, which involves an injection of a radio opaque contrast dye into a foot vein, provides X-ray illumination of the lower extremity venous system.
• Blood tests (i.e. blood count and coagulation profile) will also be performed.