[TheForge] sticking stents in veins ( was Re: PFO closure and swinging a hammer )

[terry l. ridder]

hello bruce;

On Mon, 15 Oct 2012, Bruce . wrote:

> Hmmm.   I don't know much about the subject, and I'm not sure what's a
> "plug" for a heart would be like. 0
>
> I don't like the idea of putting things like stents (which look like a
> very involved basket twist or Chinese finger trap, but a lot smaller)
> in blood vessels (to enlarge the bore) because of the potential for
> subsequent clot formation and possible resulting strokes, heart
> attacks, etc.  They may have no better choice in emergencies, but I
> don't like it.  Again -- not my expertise.
>

i agree with you. the fda also agrees with you.

http://www.fda.gov/MedicalDevices/Safety/AlertsandNotices/ucm221676.htm

i spent yesterday at the hospital on this very issue. hematology doctors
called the vascular doctor on the "carpet" over the inferior vena cava
(IVC) filter that has been in me since the head-on-collision in 2007.
the one hematology doctor calculated that the filter has been in me
approximately 5 years 2 months. the particular model that is in me is
well known to break apart even in short term use. as the vascular doctor
admitted; "if the blood clots do not kill the patient that IVC filter
may kill the patient." the vascular doctor has no good answer as to why
the filter was not removed in early 2008. he also had no good answer as
to why he did not revisit the issue of removal when the fda alert was
issued in 2010.

so now they need to contact a doctor in pennsylvania, who seems to be
the only doctor in the usa, who has an excellent track record for being
able to remove these IVC filters even if they have been in well past the
recommended timeframe. as to whether they send me to him or they bring
him here, i voted for sending me there. i would much rather have the
doctor using the tools he is used to using in an operating room he is
used to than a completely unfamilar medical environment. when someone is
going to be going through the jugular vein to retrieve a IVC filter,
which looks like a daddy-long-legs spider, which may have become
embedded in the IVC, i want the odds in their favour. i would perfer
that the IVC is not torn in half or torn at all since that would
probably mean i would bleed out in seconds. that would really suck.

>
> But I for sure wouldn't have the job done by a geologist....  Did you
> send this email from one of those phones that thinks it can spell
> better than you can?
>

given some of the doctors i have had the displeasure of meeting in the
past 16 years and have sued many of them for being nothing but a
glorified butcher, i would probably feel better if a geologist was
taking care of me. i have a cousin who is a veterinarian and i have asked
him about medical issues before i have asked an medical doctor. i would
trust my younger sister, an emergency room trauma nurse ( a & e trauma
nurse ) to operate on me before some of the butchers i have met in the
past 16 yrs.

now some maybe wondering why risk taking it out. the hematology doctors
feel that it is time to be taken off rat-poison (warfarin, a hay mold)
since the probability of forming a blood clot in my legs is low.
however, they cannot take me off warfarin with the IVC filter still in
me because without warfarin a blood clot may form on the IVC filter
causing a complete blockage of blood flow from the lower body back to
the heart. that would be a bad thing. so as of yesterday, the reason i
am taking warfarin has officially changed, it is now because some
vascular doctor back in 2008 and again in 2010, decided it was ot his
problem.

a side note: the hematology doctors cleared me to fly anywhere i want.
they no longer feel that flying is any higher a risk for me than for a
"normal" person. i am glad that they do not consider me a "normal"
person. being a "normal" person is such a one trick pony. boring. ;-)

>
> On Mon, Oct 15, 2012 at 9:21 AM, Ron Childers <ron at munlaw.net> wrote:
>> Hi, guys, I need to borrow your brains. My two strokes somewhat hampered
>> my smithing for a little while and I am tired of having to eat rat
>> poison (Coumadin). I want to have a plug put in the hole in my heart and
>> would appreciate any advice. I only know one person (Leon County judge)
>> and he said it worked well and he was able to resume his very active
>> lifestyle in just a few days. My geologist is reluctant to do it because
>> it is not a guarantee that it will do any good and mu heart is otherwise
>> healthy. Has anyone had it done or know of anyone who has and how well
>> it worked? Any input would be much appreciated. Ron C
>>
>
>
>

-- 
terry l. ridder ><>