MRI contrast leak, arm hurts with lump after 3 weeks

[Dentalmaniac]

I went for an MRI with and without contrast three weeks ago. The tech could not find my vein and finally when she did, she started injecting the contrast and then said she'd blown my vein. When I asked her what it meant, she said, oh your arm will get bruised. She then called in another technician who found another vein, injected the contrast and the test was done. When I got home, I noticed that my arm was bruised and swollen on the side that the vein was blown. It's been three weeks and my arm still hurts to the touch and it's still swollen. The swelling has probably gone down a bit, but not completely. It was bruised only for a week but the swelling and pain is still there. Did anyone have this happen to them? What did your doctor do as a follow up if it did happen? How long did it take for your arm to get back to normal? And also does this mean the contrast agent is still in my body? Will it cause serious complications? I am extremely worried!
Also I am travelling in a couple of days on a long flight and am worried that this could be a blood clot. Could this turn into DVT being on the long flight? I am obsessing over this and don't know what to do! someone's reassurance would be very helpful.

[CHIN_C]

You have described a well-known complication known as extravasation of contrast media (iodinated contrast for CT or gadolinium for MRI, the latter in your case), which means some or all of the contrast which was supposed to be injected into your veins leaked out into the surrounding soft tissues. Patients typically experience localized pain, swelling, itching, and/or redness. In the vast majority of cases, the soft tissues just slowly absorb the contrast and everything returns back to normal over the course of several hours. Patient's may be provided with warm or cold compresses, although neither is evidence-based. In very very very rare instances, contrast extravasation may result in skin ulceration, tissue necrosis, and/or compartment syndrome (increased pressure causing mass effect on adjacent nerves and/or vessels). Patients should be instructed to seek medical attention if there is any of the following: increasing swelling or pain over time; blistering, ulceration, induration or other skin changes; and/or altered tissue perfusion and/or changes in sensation.

Bottom line: No need to worry! No need to go crazy! It almost always resolves w/o complication!

For more information, please refer to the American College of Radiology's Manual on Contrast Media, specifically the section on Extravasation of Contrast Media, available at: https://www.acr.org/-/media/ACR/Files/Clinical-Resources/Contrast_Media.pdf#page=20.

To answer your other question, it is unlikely to cause a deep venous thrombosis (DVT). However, there are various risk factors associated with DVT, one of them being long flights, with others including but not limited to prolonged bedrest, recent surgery, oral contraceptives, pregnancy, blood-clotting disorders, and cancer.

[Alicatt68]

I know this was a couple of years ago but did you get any answers?? I have the exact same thing and I'm going crazy!