vegasmom
Nov 30, 2006, 07:41 AM
Hi Everyone.
I'm feeling pretty confused and I'm hoping someone can help me. About 8 months ago I had a procedure called Uterine Fibriod Embolization to treat some small fibriod tumors that were starting to give me a little bit of trouble. The procedure is done by placing a catheter into the femoral artery, threading it to the uterus, and using some "particles" to embolize the arteries around the uterus to decrease the blood supply, thus shrinking the fibriods. Halfway through the procedure something went wrong. I could not see, but I was wide awake and very aware of everything that was happening. Things turned chaotic and I was told that the procedure had been unsuccessful. I have never heard from the Interventional Radiologist who performed the procedure since that day. Since that day, my leg has been swollen and intermittenly painful down to my knee. Two days ago I was finally diagnosed with lymphedema. Apparently, my lymph nodes sustained some sort of damage during the arterial catheterization. My doctor is currently looking for a specialist locally to send me to. Has anyone else ever heard of someone ending up with lymphodema after a procedure like this, or maybe after a cardiac procedure of some sort as I understand that the femoral artery is used for those as well? I am feeling very lost, very confused, and VERY scared. I am 35. What is ahead of me? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks, Beth
I'm feeling pretty confused and I'm hoping someone can help me. About 8 months ago I had a procedure called Uterine Fibriod Embolization to treat some small fibriod tumors that were starting to give me a little bit of trouble. The procedure is done by placing a catheter into the femoral artery, threading it to the uterus, and using some "particles" to embolize the arteries around the uterus to decrease the blood supply, thus shrinking the fibriods. Halfway through the procedure something went wrong. I could not see, but I was wide awake and very aware of everything that was happening. Things turned chaotic and I was told that the procedure had been unsuccessful. I have never heard from the Interventional Radiologist who performed the procedure since that day. Since that day, my leg has been swollen and intermittenly painful down to my knee. Two days ago I was finally diagnosed with lymphedema. Apparently, my lymph nodes sustained some sort of damage during the arterial catheterization. My doctor is currently looking for a specialist locally to send me to. Has anyone else ever heard of someone ending up with lymphodema after a procedure like this, or maybe after a cardiac procedure of some sort as I understand that the femoral artery is used for those as well? I am feeling very lost, very confused, and VERY scared. I am 35. What is ahead of me? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks, Beth