Long flight~ concerns abt deep vein thrombosis?

[librarianlk 26]

curious if anyone who had a long flight after surgery had any special advice or if drs did anything special to prevent DVT on the flight home. I'm being sleeved in Oct in TJ and will be flying home to AK. For some reason I'm fixated on this, maybe because occasionally (not often) my ankles swell on long flights. Am I just being paranoid?

[Patricia Tate Johnson 43]

I leave from Anchorage on Friday, July 26th headed to Puerta Vallerta, I'll let you know how it goes for me. My routing is Anchorage-LA-PV; i think each flight is about 5 hours.

[newclear 7]

My flight was from San Diego to LA, LA to Tokyo... doubt your flight time is longer than that. It's normal to worry, but I spoke to my surgeon about this concern and he told me to make sure I get up once/hr and spend 10 mins flexing/stretching while in my seat. Definitely get your doctor's opinion - this is major surgery afterall.

[mi75 1,241]

i agree wtih the above. try to get up and stretch your legs every hour if possible. when sitting in your chair, try as often as you can to do the point/flex thing with your feet and move them around as much as you can. also just a good idea in general for everyone after surgery to do this. once you're home, walk around often, even if it's just around your home dwelling.

[librarianlk 26]

curious if anyone who had a long flight after surgery had any special advice or if drs did anything special to prevent DVT on the flight home. I'm being sleeved in Oct in TJ and will be flying home to AK. For some reason I'm fixated on this, maybe because occasionally (not often) my ankles swell on long flights. Am I just being paranoid?

Please let me know how it goas. I'm flying home SD to Seattle to Anchorage. Good luck!

[librarianlk 26]

I leave from Anchorage on Friday, July 26th headed to Puerta Vallerta, I'll let you know how it goes for me. My routing is Anchorage-LA-PV; i think each flight is about 5 hours.

My flight was from San Diego to LA, LA to Tokyo... doubt your flight time is longer than that. It's normal to worry, but I spoke to my surgeon about this concern and he told me to make sure I get up once/hr and spend 10 mins flexing/stretching while in my seat. Definitely get your doctor's opinion - this is major surgery afterall.

Wow you had a long trip! Thanks for the advice, I'm definitely going to talk about this with my doctor.

[BrandNewBrandy 79]

I had absolutely no issues and I flew to Pittsburgh, PA. I made sure I walked when I could while I wasn't flying and I moved my legs around a lot while I was flying. I had a history of a blood clot post surgery a few years ago but it was minor and only needed aspirin therapy to dissolve. The previous surgery was one where I could not walk or move for 3 weeks prior to the surgery (I had a broken hip) and there were 2 surgeries before I was up moving around. While in Mexico, I wore the stockings as indicated in the hospital then went for frequent walks in the days after surgery. I did not use the stockings on the flight home.

Edited July 18, 2014 by BrandNewBrandy

[DarbiMolly 188]

We had a cancelled flight from Mexico to Canada so we ended up having a 21 hour day from the time we woke up to the time we got home. Three flights. I wore really good compression hose. I went to a medical supply store and bought them. Then I wore them for 4 days after I got home. Just walk a lot.

[skullcandym91 8]

I flew to LA then to San Diego from NZ. No issues.

[librarianlk 26]

Just heard from my surgeon, and he will put me on meds for this, put me in compression stockings and have me up and walking. If I don't walk as much as he wants he will even put a pumping machine on my legs.

[skullcandym91 8]

I never had meds as it can cause bleeding. Water and keep walking.

[ausmith 374]

curious if anyone who had a long flight after surgery had any special advice or if drs did anything special to prevent DVT on the flight home. I'm being sleeved in Oct in TJ and will be flying home to AK. For some reason I'm fixated on this, maybe because occasionally (not often) my ankles swell on long flights. Am I just being paranoid?

You will need to wear compression stockings and you will have to do self injection of blood thinners we had to do it for 2 weeks before flight and 10 days after surgery. They also had the automatic leg compression device on us while in hospital. Speak to the Dr now so you are fully prepared. Not something you want to muck around with