hematoma

I just had angioplasty as a result of my first heart attack at 41.  The procedure restored blood flow to my heart; but my right leg is in a LOT of pain.  It's about 1 1/2 the size of my left.  The nurses expressed the hematoma at the hospital so I didn't get the "grape" that many above have described.  But my inner thigh feels as though it has a severe torn muscle.  The dark purple and blue mark is about the size of a football bridging slightly into my pubic area.  It's difficult to lift my leg from either a lying, sitting, or standing position.  I don't care about the color; but, how long should I expect this severity of pain to last.  (so far 5 days)


This discussion is related to Angioplasty and Hematoma at groin site.

[lulama]

Jamie,   is there some reason you cannot call your doctor?  there is no reason you should have to suffer a lot of pain without getting help from your doctor.........I hope one of the nurses on the board will reply to you

[JamieOz]

Hi,  Thanks for your reply.  I got home from the hospital on Wed.  I expected to have some pain.  The doctor warned that the discoloration would extend to the knee, and perhaps beyond.  I was just hoping to encounter some similar stories so that I might know what else to expect.  My surgeon was "efficient" when explaining to me, and not very detailed.  He did equip me with some pain medication, but it's not helping all that much.  He told me to walk as much as possible; but that's been pretty tough on a cane.

[ItsMeBeck]

Oh my gosh!! That sounds soo painful!! I had a hematoma after my first ablation in January. Mine felt like someone had stuck a grapefruit under my skin, it was so icky feeling! But I never got the type of pain or swelling you're describing!! Mine was definitely sore, and tight feeling when I walked, but not overly painful. As for them expressing the blood clot.. I cannot even imagine how pain full that must have been!! I remember they had to hold pressure on mine for a long time and that was just excruciating. I have to wonder if them doing that helped at all, or just made you more sore!! OUCH!!

[JamieOz]

I had to look up ablation.  I had never heard of that.  It's really interesting.  Were you awake for that?  Did your arrhythmia go away?  Could you feel anything at the site during the procedure?  I could only feel the insertion of the cath. for my angioplasty (under twilight sedation).  Yeah, the inside of my thigh has a severely tight burning sensation.  I'm trying to force myself to walk as much as possible today since the pain is intensifying as I lye more imobile.  

They did that pushing thing on me too - two nurses - four thumbs.  They had to do that several times per day, followed by a couple of sonograms to disprove any clots before ordering me to walk around the hospital halls.  If they hadn''t done that, I suspect it would have 'looked' like a grapefruit under my skin.

[ItsMeBeck]

I was under twilight sedation for my ablations as well. (I had two of them a month apart.) They were for PVCs and they were successful, well, the first one wasn't, the second one was. ;-) The only thing I felt was the insertion of the cath, and then when they started the burn I was awake during my second ablation. I remember hearing the doctor say to start the burn and before I realized what that meant and that I didn't want to be awake for it, they had already started. It started out as a warm feeling in the center of my chest, and it slowly spread to a hot feeling throughout my entire chest. It wasn't painful at all, just very very strange! They burn for a full 60 seconds and I could hear them counting down, so that helped because I knew when it would end.

I cannot even imagine having them hold pressure on the site a few times a day!! They had to do it to me twice and I wanted to cry!! It was sooo painful!! They made me have a ct scan on mine before they would let me out of bed. They wouldn't even let me roll over or move my legs for about 24 hours. My muscles were so sore from just laying still for long, I think that was the worst part of it all!!

Anyway, good luck!! I hope you're feeling better soon.