Question:
Has anyone else had to have a shunt put in their leg before surgery to help control b

My Doc said because I am so much overweight (400 lbs) that I had to have a shunt put in my leg a couple weeks before surgery. He said it was to control blood clots and it is only done for the severely obese. It will be in their forever and is never taken out. If anyone else has had this please let me know about it. Did it hurt? Is it painful now? Anyting. Thanks and God Bless!    — shalandar (posted on March 9, 2004)

March 9, 2004
It is called a Greenfield filter or a vena cava filter and is commonly done. My husband needed to have one put in because he was 350+ and had had a bad blood clot in 2000. His was supposed to be temporary and was to be removed before he was 3 wks PO (open RNY). They went in to take it out at the alotted time frame and could not because it had clots in it. The filter saved his life because if one of those clots has been able to float on its happy way through his artery he would have had a heart attack. His filter is now a permenant part of his body. I have had a filter in me since 1991 due to a blood clot also and it does not bother me. I do not even know it is there. You may need to be on blood thinners for a little while longer after surgery because of your weight and having the filter in you. And no it did not hurt when the doctor put it in because he was put under for the procedure.
   — ChristineB