Deep Vein Thrombosis

Family, three generations

Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is a condition in which a blood clot forms in a deep leg vein. DVT can affect people of all ages but risk factors increase after age 50 and with certain conditions, such as cancer, recent surgery, recent trauma, and extended periods of immobility.

Left untreated, DVT can cause permanent leg damage. There is also a risk that the blood clot could break off and travel to the lungs, causing a potentially deadly pulmonary embolism.  The Society of Interventional Radiology estimates that one in every 100 people who develop DVT dies from a pulmonary embolism.

Doctors at Virginia Interventional & Vascular Associates can diagnose DVT and provide several treatment options used individually or in combination, depending on the patient’s condition:

  • Blood thinning medications to prevent new clots from forming
  • Catheter-directed thrombolysis, a minimally invasive procedure that breaks up the clot but requires a 24-72 hour intensive care hospital stay
  • Isolated pharmacomechanical thrombolysis (IPMT), a newer minimally invasive procedure that breaks up the clot, requiring an overnight hospital stay. VIVA doctors use the Trellis® Peripheral Infusion System to perform the procedure.
  • Inferior vena cava filter, a medical device that is implanted to help prevent pulmonary embolisms


Sources: Society of Interventional Radiology, Virginia Interventional & Vascular Associates