Medical device aids in removal of blood clots caused by Deep Vein Thrombosis

Blood clotting is often treated with blood thinners. But there is a special device that treats the clot more aggressively which means less reliance on blood thinners post procedure.

If you were to add up the length of every single blood vessel in the adult body, it would total about 60 thousand miles. That would be about the same distance around the world, but twice!

Blood vessels are what carry blood to all the vital organs in your body. You want to make sure that the delivery is seamless! Unfortunately for some, blood clotting can stymie that process.

"When the clot breaks off it can go to the heart and lungs which can be a life threatening situation." says Dr. Leon Salem, a vascular surgeon with WellSpan.

Blood thinners can treat this condition to a degree, but there often remains residual clotting that can leave the veins damaged.

"That can lead to long term complications such as chronic leg swelling, leg pain, and development of a lot of varicose veins, and extreme cases the patients can have ulcerations of their legs that can be a major problem." says Salem.

There is a device that can mechanically remove the clot in conjunction with the help of blood thinners.

"The procedure itself is called a mechanical thrombectomy which simply means that it's the physical removal of the clot." says Salem. "It's a minimally invasive procedure that's done just with a sedation, very similar to a colonoscopy. It's all done through an IV that's placed behind the knee."

The wire then goes inside the vein and is relatively pain free. The actual device goes above goes above the clot.

"And then we pull it down and as it goes down through it just scoops the clot and we pull it out through the same IV behind the knee." says Salem.

After the clot is removed, pictures are then taken of where it was to see if the veins look healthier - doctors say this procedure helps prevent long-term damage to the veins caused by clots.

Post procedure, they say patients do much better across all age groups.

"The patients that I've done have a much quicker response in resolution of their symptoms." says Salem.

After a mechanical thrombectomy, blood thinners are often still used, but depending on the patient, they may be used less post procedure.