Myth Buster #2. "If I decide to have foot surgery, my risk of developing a life-threatening blood clot increases, just like professional tennis player Serena Williams! "
FALSE!! And Whoa, whoa, whoa! There are Many risk factors associated with blood clots! Not Just foot surgery! Genetics, birth control, a sedentary lifestyle, smoking, trauma, females of child-bearing age, prolonged durations of sitting (like being on an airplane or a long drive for many hours), again I repeat GENETICS!
Surgery is NOT the only cause of blood clots! SURGERY IS NOT THE ONLY CAUSE OF BLOOD CLOTS!!
The public only knows what the media tells us. The public thinks they know that Serena Williams had one or two foot surgeries which caused her to develop a clot in her lung and stomach that required emergent surgery. Well, is there a History of blood clots in Serena's family? We don't know. Does Serena herself has a history of blood clots? We don't know. Does Serena smoke? Probably not, but we don't know! Has Serena been on an extended airplane ride, YES!! Is Serena of child-bearing age? YES again!! Yes, Serena had a recent foot surgery, but this does not necessarily tell us that foot surgery caused Serena's clot. As you can see from above, there is a combination of risk factors that may or may not have predisposed Serena to a clot.
Unfortunately for Serena Williams and many Americans, blood clots happen. It is the responsiblity of your medical doctor and surgical specialist to identify the potential risk factors that you as a patient may have, and to decrease the liklihood that you'll develop a clot.
Dr. Kelly Malinoski, DPM works very closely with your primary care physicians to have a complete patient history of medical conditions, medications, allergies, surgical history, and family history. If we are discussing elective foot/ankle surgery, and there is a high-risk of blood clot, the surgery will not be done. As with any surgery, there IS ALWAYS the risk of clotting. There are specific precautions that are taken to significantly decrease this potential risk, i.e, oral drugs to decrease the chance of blood clotting, early physical therapy and range of motion exercises to get your body and your legs in motion, and sometimes cuffs place around the legs that regularly inflate and deflate with air compression to get your blood moving when you yourself cannot!
The moral of the story is, foot surgery is not the sole culprit in one's chance of developing a blood clot. The most important factor in blood clot development are the risk factors that you individually possess, that IN COMBINATION, can increase your liklihood of developing a clot. Yes, Serena Willaims had foot surgery, but she also had RISK FACTORS.
Visit Dr. Malinoski at www.podiatristofnaples.com
Visit Dr. Malinoski at www.podiatristofnaples.com
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