My wife is 58 yrs old, was active, good health generally, no medications,
only vitamins. She broke her ankle in january 2005, was taken to the local
ER and casted immediately by an orthopedic surgeon. Cast ran from foot to
knee. Instructions were to make appt with his office for a month later for
follow up. In the meantime, her foot turned black, tremendous amount of
swelling occurred, and excessive pain. She called the doctor and was told
that this was "normal". The cast came off in a month. Pain and swelling
did not stop. I called the doctor and he ordered an ultrasound which
indicated a large blood clot. Hospitalization followed and now daily
coumadin. I have further since learned that casting immediately is not
standard at any other hospital around because of the complications that
arise. Icing and immobilization are the norm until the swelling subsides.
My question is this? is it possible that the blod clot occurred because of
the severe impedance of blood flow due to the excessive swelling inside the
cast? In the alternative, could the immediate casting and ensuing swelling
have been a contributing factor to the blood clot?