Pulmonary Embolism Support Group

By far the most common form of pulmonary embolism is a thromboembolism, which occurs when a blood clot, generally a venous thrombus, becomes dislodged from its site of formation and embolizes to the arterial blood supply of one of the lungs. Symptoms may include difficulty breathing, pain during breathing, and more rarely circulatory instability and death.

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Surgery for son when PE runs in family?

SunnySoon
SunnySoon
I had a PE just over a year ago at age 35, and my husband had a massive PE at age 30. He has factor v leiden, and I have no known clotting disorders, and both were idiopathic. My concern today is about my 10-year-old son who recently broke his arm. We found out just yesterday that he will have to have surgery to fix it, and it is scheduled for this afternoon. This has me a little concerned because of what I know about general anesthesia slowing the blood flow, and the fact that he's got two parents with history of PE at young ages...and I know that if a person happens to inherit more than one clotting disorder, it multiplies their risks. On the other hand the literature I've read says clots are rare in children even if they do have clotting disorders. The doctors aren't worried about it because clots in kids are rare, but I assume having two parents with our history is rare too. My question is whether I should be requesting precautions for my son (such as those leg pumps that keep blood flowing...can't remember what they're called). I would not request blood thinners, but I don't know what if anything I should be worried about. Or maybe I'm worried over nothing? I trust that our doctors are cautious and have our best interests, but I've found that most aren't that knowledgeable on PE. Any thoughts?
rmb
rmb
Hi, I get your concern for sure. Are you able to consult with the surgeon before the surgery to see what the plan is for monitoring him? That may give you a little bit of peace of mind. I think asking about the compression boots won't hurt but I do think your son has age on his side in terms of the risk for clotting.
rmb
rmb
How did everything go?
SunnySoon
SunnySoon
It went well, thanks! I talked to the surgeon beforehand and he was on board with the compression boots. They didn't have any small enough to work on him, but they had some contraptions that go on the feet that apparently do the same thing, so we went with those. His age does make me feel a lot better as far as clotting risks.
rmb
rmb
Oh I'm glad things went well. It's hard enough when a child has to have any type of procedure but adding the family clotting history just makes it more stressful.

Thanks for letting us know!
TossNTurn
TossNTurn
That sounds like a good compromise. I think surgeons can be completely reasonable when you talk with them on concerns like this. I definitely try to be pro-active when I have concerns and it has worked out pretty well for me.

Hope your son is doing well!
JuliesLife
JuliesLife
What a great, proactive parent you are! I'm so glad it went well and you found a good compromise to help you feel more comfortable as well as reducing clotting risk. :)
meggiecook
meggiecook
The best thing you can do is to make sure he is active following the surgery. He needs to get up and take walks around the house starting the day after. I made the mistake of laying down for days after a substantial surgery, in which I was under general anesthesia for three hours, and suffered a moderate PE because of it.

Since the surgery seems to have gone well, and leg pumps/compression boots were used, I wouldn't be too worried. The best thing you can do for him now is to not let him worry about it and make sure he's active.
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