Deep vein thrombosis and our treatment applications: 12-year results

Introduction: Deep vein thrombosis is an important health problem that is frequently encountered in the general population and especially in surgical clinics and has a negative impact on quality of life. In this study, treatment options and results of patients with deep vein thrombosis who have been hospitalized for 12 years in Atatürk University and Erzurum Regional Hospital were examined and discussed. Methods: In our clinic, 412 cases of deep vein thrombosis (211 female, 201 male) were hospitalized between 2009 and 2021. The mean age of the patients was 49 ± 19 years. While medical treatment with heparin was given to all 412 patients; thrombolytic therapy, surgical embolectomy (vascular and pulmoner), and pharmaco-mechanical thrombectomy were applied to some of these patients. Results: Deep vein thrombosis was more common in the lower extremity (n=322, 78.2%). All patients had at least one of the complaints of pain, swelling and redness. All cases were diagnosed by color Doppler ultrasonography. Medically, standard and low molecular weight heparin therapy was given to all patients after hospitalization. Thrombolytic therapy was applied to 66 (16,1%) of the cases, pulmonary embolectomy to 8 (1,9%), surgical thrombectomy to 10 (2,4%) and pharmacomechanical thrombectomy to 44 (10,7%) patients. In addition to these 120 patients (29.1%), a vena cava filter was placed for prophylactic purposes. Conclusions: In patients diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis and hospitalized, the diagnosis should be supported by Doppler ultrasound in addition to clinical diagnosis after an etiology investigation. Early diagnosis, rapid and effective treatment methods are important for the subsequent quality of life of patients. In addition to low molecular weight heparins being the first choice agents, standard heparin administration still needs to be applied in some clinical pictures. In addition, we believe that pharmacomechanical thrombectomy can be applied in appropriate acute cases.