Has anyone heard of this?

[Jeffrey A. Mathison]

Typically, the DVT (deep venous thrombosis) clot will form a couple of days to a week following the acute injury. It takes a while for the chain reaction I wrote about to occur. That's why we should ice down the deep thigh bruises and then watch for signs and symptoms for the next several days.

It appears that you had something similar to a compartment syndrome where the bruise, edema, and inflammation caused more fluid formation and had to be drained. Actually, the risk in your situation was one of permanent damage to the muscles and nerves rather than an embolic phenomenon. The compression of the deep vessels from all the swelling probably PREVENTED a DVT! I would say your risk of DVT now (several years later) is negligible.

All in all, it sounds like it wasn't much fun!

Thanks for the reply,

Jeff "Doc" Mathison