?If you have suffered injuries as a result of DVT due to misdiagnosis or failure to timely diagnosis, contact one of our Hartford medical malpractice lawyers.
DVT may occur without obvious symptoms and may be difficult to detect. Up to 50% of DVT incidents may produce minimal symptoms or are completely “silent.”
Contact your doctor if you notice:
- Pain, redness, tenderness, or sudden swelling in the leg
- Skin that is warm to the touch
Seek urgent medical help if you experience any of the following:
- Unexplained shortness of breath
- Chest pain or breathing
- Rapid heart rate
- Unexplained coughing
- Coughing up blood
Diagnosing DVT
Because several other conditions, such as muscle strains, skin infections, and inflammation of superficial veins (phlebitis), display symptoms similar to DVT, the condition may be difficult to diagnose without doing specific imaging studies. If your healthcare provider suspects you could have DVT, here are some of the tests that may be ordered.
Doppler (Duplex Venous) Ultrasound
This noninvasive procedure uses a wand-like device called a transducer that sends sound waves into the leg. The waves travel through the leg tissue and reflect back, enabling a computer to transform them into a moving image that can reveal the presence of a clot.
Doppler Ultrasound is the most popular method for diagnosing DVT. Not only is it painless and easy to perform, it is also very effective for diagnosing thrombi (clots) where they are most dangerous-in the deep veins of the upper leg and groin. It is not quite as effective when diagnosing below the knee.
Venography
In this study, dye is injected into a large vein in the foot or ankle. An x-ray image is then taken to reveal the location of possible clots.
Venography is one of the most accurate ways to identify deep vein thrombosis, but it may be uncomfortable. Occasionally it may cause phlebitis, an inflammation of the superficial veins. In addition to being invasive, venography is expensive. It also requires a high degree of expertise to perform and interpret correctly.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
MRI uses a strong magnet to visualize the body’s internal structures and generate clear, high-quality /images. Preliminary studies suggest that Magnetic Resonance Imaging may be very effective in diagnosing DVT, especially in the thigh and pelvic areas.
