Tag: Varicose

YOU HAVE A BLOOD CLOT. NOW WHAT?

Posted on by Michael Kokinos

One of the most common consultations that we as vascular surgeons receive is for deep vein thrombosis, otherwise known as blood clots.  Deep veins refer to the location of the vein that has the problem.  In the legs we have two main sets of veins: Deep and superficial.  Deep veins are within the muscle and close to the bones whereas superficial veins are close to the skin; hence their names!

Thrombosis refers to the process of the blood turning from a liquid into a solid form.  Normally, thrombosis occurs in response to an injury to stop bleeding from a wound.  However, when thrombosis occurs in the deep veins, it stops blood from being transported from the foot back to the heart.  The obstruction of flow results in swelling and pain below where the thrombus, or clot, has formed.

There are many causes of blood clots, but the most common causes include:

  • Traveling for extended periods of time in a sitting or resting position.
  • Trauma, including accidents which cause broken bones or bruises.
  • Narrowing of the veins of the pelvis, and
  • Specific genetic mutations that increase the likelihood of the blood forming clots. 
  • In older patients, another potential cause of blood clots without any other cause is cancer.  Cancer, unfortunately, can result in the release of chemicals and hormones within the body that make clotting more likely.

For patients who develop a blood clot in the context of traveling, narrowed pelvic veins, or having a traumatic injury to the affected leg, treatment involves a 3-month course of blood thinning medication followed by ultrasound tests to determine the stability of the clot.  If the symptoms improve and the clot remains stable, then the medication to thin the blood can be stopped at 3 months.

For travelers who are forced to sit for extended periods without being able to move, making an effort to walk around intermittently throughout the traveling can be helpful.  For example, on the plane, every 30 minutes stand up and walk up and down the aisle 3-4 times.  For patients who have a traumatic injury to their leg, the best choice would be to avoid, if possible, situations that led to the particular accident.  Finally, in patients with narrowed pelvic veins, I as a vascular surgeon can help relieve the narrowing with a special minimally invasive procedure called a venogram.  In the procedure, I place a self-expanding tube called a stent into the compressed vein via a small 2 mm puncture site in the groin to make sure the compressed vein remains open.

For those patients who did not have a traumatic accident, narrowed pelvic veins, recent travel, or a high suspicion of cancer, referral to a hematologist, or a doctor who specializes in disorders of the blood, can be helpful.  The hematologist can help order special genetic tests to determine if there is a genetic predisposition to forming clots.  In patients who do end up having genetic mutations, long-term placement on blood thinning medications can help prevent further events.

If you are anyone that you know is suffering from a blood clot, please do not hesitate to call our office on 408-376-3626 to schedule an appointment!  The expertise that vascular surgeons have in this area of medicine is critical to ensure a good outcome!

A MULTI-CULTURAL APPROACH TO VASCULAR CARE

Posted on by Angelica Rodezno

South Bay Vascular Center and Vein Institute, with offices in Campbell and Gilroy CA., is recognized as one of the leading vascular surgery practices in Northern California. In addition to their cutting edge work in amputation prevention, South Bay Vascular Center is widely recognized as the leading center for the diagnosis and treatment of iliac-vein compression, medically know as May-Thurners disease, in the whole of the Western United States. Using the most advanced diagnostic imagining technology, Intra Vascular Ultrasound (IVUS), Dr’s Kokinos and Pineda have treated more patients for this mostly undiagnosed cause of leg swelling….a condition which often presents in patients as left leg swelling, than any other medical practice in the region.

Delivering exceptional care, however, involves much more than simply being the best practitioner. Exceptional patient care demands compassionate care. Exceptional patient care is born of a philosophy that understands the patient apart from their disease….it requires an understanding of how disease impacts every part of a patients life…their lifestyle, their family, their friends and most importantly, their future. Communicating this understanding to patients is difficult in the best of circumstances and when patients come from a different cultural system, communication becomes even more difficult.

At South Bay Vascular Center and Vein Institute, we pride ourselves in being able to communicate with our patients across multiple cultural and language barriers. To this point, our physicians and staff speak many different languages and represent a diversity of cultural and faith traditions. As native speakers South Bay Vascular Staff can communicate with our patients in the following languages:

  • Spanish
  • Greek
  • German
  • Hindi
  • Farsi
  • Russian
  • English
  • Tagalog
  • French
  • Turkish

Additionally, our staff is sensitive to many diverse cultural traditions, faith based gender sensitivities and ethnic differences.

South Bay Vascular Center is a community based surgical practice operating at the forefront of vascular medicine. Our physicians provide unmatched medical care by providing the best possible outcomes in the most difficult of circumstances. In our private, nationally accredited state of the art ambulatory surgery center and vascular ultrasonography laboratory we treat each and every patient with the utmost of respect allowing them to maintain their dignity in difficult times

Large medical systems, often referred to as “Big Box” medicine, are an operationally efficient and a very profitable way to practice medicine but delivering exceptional care is difficult as the underlying drivers are often constrained by larger “business” decisions instead of what’s in the best interest of the patient. At South Bay Vascular, we operate with a care philosophy wholly different than big box medicine and as such, provide an unmatched level of care not found anywhere else in the region.

A multi-cultural approach to providing exceptional vascular care is just one of the many ways that the physicians and staff at South Bay Vascular Center and Vein Institute strive to be the best at what we do. Together with providing the most sophisticated medical care we deliver exceptional patient care in the most difficult of circumstances.

If you our anyone else that you know suffers from problems in any part of their circulatory system, call us today to learn how we can help.