The Use of Thrombectomy in a Timely Diagnosis
May 15, 2019
The third most-common cardiovascular health threat is venous thromboembolism (VTE), or a blood clot in the leg that travels to the lungs. When diagnosed, it can be treated with surgical thrombectomy. But sometimes doctors don’t diagnose it in time to treat it with thrombectomy.
According to WorldThrombosisDay.org, “blood clots in the leg and lungs are responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths worldwide, many of which could be avoided with proper diagnosis and treatment.”
Most VTE fatalities happen from a failure to diagnose, rather than a failure to treat it. When diagnosed in a sufficient amount of time, surgical thrombectomy is an adequate treatment to prevent long-term injury and death.
How Does Thrombectomy Save Lives?
Surgical thrombectomy prevents dangerous health risks of a blood clot in the arm or leg traveling to the lung, including:
- Death of tissue
- Loss of function of an organ
- Breathing trouble and risk of death
During the procedure, while the patient is under general anesthesia, the surgeon uses continuous X-ray images to guide the operation. The doctor cuts in the area above the blood clot, opens the blood vessel, and removes the clot.
Sometimes surgeons insert a balloon attached to a thin tube (catheter) into the blood vessel and remove leftover parts of the clot. Stents are also sometimes used to keep the blood vessel open and allow blood to flow through.
After clot removal, the doctor closes and repairs the blood vessel, then closes the incision in the skin and bandages the wound.
In order for a surgical thrombectomy to effectively remove the blood clot before it travels to the lungs, a doctor must make a timely, proper diagnosis. Delayed diagnosis or misdiagnosis can lead to dangerous consequences, including death.
Find the Expert You Need for Delayed Diagnosis Lawsuits
It’s common for individuals to file medical malpractice lawsuits because of a misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis that led to personal injury or death from VTE. This is true with blood clots and pulmonary embolisms that require timely treatment, including surgical thrombectomy.
No matter the details involved in your medical malpractice case, you can trust Saponaro, Inc. for professional and objective expert witnesses. We’re here to help keep the process simple and stress-free. We offer:
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Let us take the work of identifying an expert for your medical malpractice case out of your hands. We have thousands of experts standing by to assist you with your case. Find one today.
