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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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What Is The Treatment For Unilateral Leg Edema?

Hello, I have unilateral leg edema (left leg). A little hx: I am a 61 year old female and experienced edema of my left leg in March after a 3.5 hour flight from MD to TX. I saw my PCP a week after returning home as my leg was still swollen. I was sent for lab work and an ultrasound. My D-Dimer blood test was elevated however, the ultrasound of my left leg was normal. Nothing more was done and eventually the edema subsided. Over the past few weeks I’ve noticed some slight edema in my left foot and ankle that seemed to come and go. Wednesday I was a passenger in a car for about 5 hours with only one break to walk around. Afterwards, I was at an event where I was sitting for an extended period of time. My left leg was quite swollen when I got home. Since then, I have tried to keep it elevated whenever I sit down and I elevate it in bed at night when I go to sleep. Even though the swelling is not as pronounced as it was Wednesday evening, I am a little concerned that I may have a serious vascular issue. In addition, I should probably mention that 30 years ago I had recurrent thrombophlebitis and was diagnosed with vasculitis a year or two afterwards. I have not had a blood clot since then nor a flare up of vasculitis. Your thoughts and suggestions are most appreciated.
Mon, 29 Dec 2014
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General & Family Physician 's  Response
Hi,
There are lots of other conditions that can cause unilateral leg swelling/edema.
- are you hypertensive or diabetic?
- do you have any heart issues?
- are you on any regular medications?
- it can be a dependent edema( that occurs on prolonged sitting)
- can be a early chronic venous insufficiency.

Now coming to your history:
In view of high d dimer, I would ask for a repeat duplex to study the left leg for DVT.
- thrombhophlebitis can later progress to have DVT.
- with history of recurrent thrombhophlebitis in the past I would start you on tab. Aspirin 75 mg once daily
- you can learn manual lymphatic drainage exercises and ankle exercises
- you can apply compression bandages for legs.( grade 2 below knee compression stockings )
- avoid prolonged sitting/ standing

In case your DVT duplex picks up any clots which are acute , then you need anti-coagulation.



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What Is The Treatment For Unilateral Leg Edema?

Hi, There are lots of other conditions that can cause unilateral leg swelling/edema. - are you hypertensive or diabetic? - do you have any heart issues? - are you on any regular medications? - it can be a dependent edema( that occurs on prolonged sitting) - can be a early chronic venous insufficiency. Now coming to your history: In view of high d dimer, I would ask for a repeat duplex to study the left leg for DVT. - thrombhophlebitis can later progress to have DVT. - with history of recurrent thrombhophlebitis in the past I would start you on tab. Aspirin 75 mg once daily - you can learn manual lymphatic drainage exercises and ankle exercises - you can apply compression bandages for legs.( grade 2 below knee compression stockings ) - avoid prolonged sitting/ standing In case your DVT duplex picks up any clots which are acute , then you need anti-coagulation.