Thrombolysis

Thrombolysis is a treatment for an acute clot in the leg (deep vein thrombosis-DVT) or lung (pulmonary embolism-PE). A blood clot in a deep vein can break off and travel through the bloodstream to an artery in the lungs and block blood flow there, resulting in a PE. Thrombolysis is a way of removing the clot by dissolution. A blood-clot-dissolving medicine is delivered directly into the clot by a catheter placed through a puncture in the skin and directed through the vein to the clot by x-ray imaging. It requires hospitalization, close observation, and usually several other procedures for complete clot removal. Other means of treating DVT-PE are to mechanically break apart and remove the clot via a catheter; remove it directly through surgery; and, for DVT patients who cannot take blood-thinning medications, a vena cava filter. Patients should undergo a DVT-PE risk assessment prior to entering potential high-risk situations such as major operations, periods of immobility, prolonged travel, and hospitalizations. Risk factors also include advanced age, family history, prior clotting episodes, hormonal changes, malignancy, obesity, and serious injury. Of the two million Americans with DVT nearly six percent die within one month of diagnosis, primarily due to PE.

Whether you are looking for treatment for spider and varicose veins or a more complex vein problem, the UAB Vein Clinic offers comprehensive evaluation, specialized treatment, and compassionate care for the health of your veins.

As central Alabama’s premier comprehensive vein center, the UAB Vein Clinic provides state-of-the-art cosmetic, minimally invasive, and surgical treatments, performed by vascular specialists and medical experts who are specially trained in vein disease.

Located at UAB Hospital-Highlands, the clinic provides outpatient care, while more intensive treatments and vascular surgery are performed at UAB Hospital. The UAB Vein Clinic is part of the larger UAB Vein Program. As the only one of its kind in the state, the UAB Vein Program was created to care for a wide range of venous problems.

When you choose UAB Medicine to care for your vein condition, you gain immediate access to physicians and surgeons who are leaders in the most complex vascular conditions and offer the latest treatment options.

Vein Clinic
UAB Hospital-Highlands
1201 11th Avenue South
Birmingham, Alabama

Resources

• Patient Forms and Information
• Division of Vascular Surgery and Endovascular Therapy
• YouTube: PBS – National Medical Reporter Video – Compression
• American Venous Forum
• Society for Vascular Surgery
• Healthy Veins
• Vascular Cures

Related Specialties

• Deep Vein Thrombosis
• Pulmonary Embolism
• Thrombectomy
• Vascular Disease
• Vein Clinic
• Vena Cava Filter