Your treatment options vary and depend on the severity of the blood clots. Specialists at Henry Ford have expertise in the full range of treatments, from medications to minimally invasive procedures. We work closely with you to find the right treatments, based on your specific health needs.
DVT treatment aims to:
- Prevent existing clots from expanding
- Prevent clots from breaking loose and causing a stroke or PE
- Reduce the risk of new clots forming
Medication and monitoring for deep vein thrombosis
For small clots, our vascular medicine specialists usually begin with noninvasive treatment such as medications and monitoring. You may need one or a combination of these treatments:
- Anticoagulants (blood thinners): Heparin is usually the first blood thinner given for DVT, and you receive it through a vein by injection or an intravenous (IV) catheter, a thin, flexible tube. Warfarin (Coumadin®) and Xa inhibitors are oral pills that you may receive after or instead of heparin. Blood thinners help stop existing clots from growing and new ones from developing.
- Observation with imaging: We may monitor you at regular intervals with imaging, such as duplex ultrasound, for single clots or those lower in your legs.
Minimally invasive DVT treatment
For larger clots or those close to the lungs, our vascular team coordinates your care with Henry Ford interventional radiologists. These specialists are experts in minimally invasive procedures to remove clots or widen narrowed or blocked veins.
Vascular surgeons and interventional radiologists use endovascular treatments, which go inside veins and only require a small incision. Most people can go home the same day or the next. A minimally invasive procedure can help you heal faster, with less pain and an easier recovery.
Your minimally invasive treatment options include:
- Catheter-directed thrombolysis: Your doctor inserts a catheter into the vein and guides it to the clot. Through the catheter, the doctor uses tools to either remove the clot or deliver clot-dissolving medication. Thrombolysis, an outpatient procedure, treats clots at high risk for PE.
- Interventional thrombectomy: We use advanced endovascular devices along with thrombolysis to treat clots. Your doctor guides the device to the clot and administers clot-dissolving medications. One device uses ultrasound, and the other a vibrating wire, to help break up the clot. The doctor uses the catheter to retrieve the medications and the remains of the clot.
- Inferior vena cava filter placement: A filter placed in the IVC can prevent clots from reaching the lungs. Your doctor inserts the filter through a catheter and guides it into the IVC. The filter attaches to the vein’s walls to catch any blood clots from the legs. An IVC filter is an option for people who can’t take blood thinners.
- Venous angioplasty and stenting: Your doctor can open severe blockages in deep veins using a catheter with a balloon tip. After guiding the catheter to the blockage, the doctor inflates the balloon to widen the vein. In some cases, we may place a stent (tiny, metal-mesh tube) in the vein to hold it open.
- Inferior vena cava filter removal: When you no longer need the IVC filter, your vascular surgeon or interventional radiologist can safely remove it with an endovascular approach or robotic-assisted technique. The robotic system provides additional flexibility to work in hard-to-reach areas.
Surgery to treat DVT
In rare cases, you may need open surgery for DVT. Your vascular surgeon takes a healthy vein from elsewhere in your body and attaches it above and below the blocked section.
Known as vein bypass surgery, this procedure sends blood around the blockage for improved blood flow. Learn more about our skilled vascular surgery team.