Patients often go through years of suffering with worsening symptoms and quality of life disturbances. Read what real patients have to say about their journey through seeking help, getting a diagnosis, receiving treatment and restoring their quality of life.
Patient Stories:
Deep Venous Disease (DVD)
Returning to a Full Life with DVD and MTS
Watch Melanie's DVD Story
Melanie Holcomb, 46
My story starts after I had been sick in bed for ten days with a high fever. I am a busy mom with three kids and I did not take the time to go see my doctor. I just waited it out and was starting to feel a little better. I knew I was weak and dehydrated, but thought I would get well on my own. One day, I tried to get back into my routine but I felt a sharp pain in my leg all day, like I had pulled a muscle. That evening, I collapsed. My leg just went out from under me. My family had to help me get to a bed.
We didn’t know what was happening or what to do. The skin on my leg was blotchy. I called my doctor. We thought it might be an allergic reaction. Within an hour there was significant swelling. It was getting worse so we went to the emergency room. By that time, I could not move my leg at all.
The skin on my leg was blotchy and there was significant swelling.”
Road to Diagnosis and Treatment
When we arrived at the hospital, I was in a lot of pain. My leg was three times its normal size. They did an ultrasound and found a blood clot. I was given blood thinners and quickly transferred to a larger hospital. Once there, I found out that my vein had collapsed and I had a condition called May-Thurner Syndrome (MTS). The doctor theorized that during my illness I had gotten dehydrated enough to cause the blood clot and the clot triggered the MTS.
I went through a procedure to remove the clot, insert a filter and place a stent. The filter was later removed and the stent stayed in place to keep my vein open. It was an emotional time for me. I was anxious about my recovery but I received great support from family and friends. It took two months to get back to my normal activities. Now I can do everything I did before, but I have to take precautions like wearing compression stockings. I drink a lot of water and am more proactive about my health.
My vein had collapsed. I had a condition called May-Thurner Syndrome.”
How Others Can Take the Step Toward Better Health
I think women, in general, we tend to be those super people that can do everything at all times and don’t really take time for ourselves. We just kind of charge ahead and keep doing what we’ve got to do. I would tell others to pay attention when something unusual happens and go see your doctor. Get it checked out and take care of yourself. Follow the advice of your doctor. Drink lots of water. These are simple things you can do to stay healthy and keep doing the things you want to do.
Model for illustrative purposes only.
Standing Up to Deep Venous Occlusion
Model for illustrative purposes only.
Michelle Copeland, 49
About four years ago, I started to develop a deep aching pain in both of my legs. Although both legs bothered me, the throbbing was more prominent in my left one. This continued as my legs became extremely sensitive to the touch – so much so that people would ask me if I were diabetic, even though I wasn’t. I became concerned and went to my doctor, but everything checked out normally. I assumed everything was just in my head.
But it wasn’t. Over time, my legs became so uncomfortable, that I was in pain just taking my dog for a walk. And then it started to become bothersome to go to the gym. I started getting a lot of leg cramps in the middle of the night, mostly on the left side. I remember waking up six times a night trying to make it stop.
But it didn’t get better. No matter how I tried to take care of my feet and legs, everything continued to worsen. My feet became so dry that I developed deep fissures. And in general, my health began to decline.
Emotionally, it was draining and I was anxious all the time. I thought “maybe I just have cancer”? Those self-defeating thoughts made me feel worse. And this was very difficult as I tried to remain a positive role model for my children.
Over time, my legs became so uncomfortable that I was in pain just taking my dog for a walk.”
Road to Diagnosis and Treatment
For more than two years, I went through a battery of tests. My primary care doctor at the time didn’t know what was going on. So, I was referred to an ear, nose and throat (ENT) doctor. And then to a neuropathy specialist and a podiatrist. With all the problems in my feet and the varicose veins that had developed over the years, I needed help. My podiatrist felt that I should consult a vascular specialist after visually inspecting my legs.
After all the doctors I had seen, I thought it would be a waste of my time. But what did I have to lose at this point? Why not take the step and do everything possible to get help?
When I saw the vascular specialist, she ordered an angiogram, a special test to visualize how blood was flowing in my legs. To my shock, she discovered my iliac vein (a deep vein located near my abdomen) was completely blocked. I was officially diagnosed with deep venous occlusion (DVO), a rare, yet serious condition where blood flow is obstructed in the leg.
Not only was this a shock to myself, but also to my mom and children. No one in my family had this type of vascular disease. I had never even heard of such a condition. Through my web searches and all my research, nothing like this ever came up. It was scary to know that this disease was behind all those years of terrible symptoms. Despite the rarity of the condition, I felt lucky that it was finally identified.
Within a few days of diagnosis, I was scheduled for a procedure where a small catheter was inserted into the vein and the doctor was able to visualize the blockage. The procedure was performed to remove the obstruction and a stent was placed, which allowed the blood to flow normally, as it should. Within 24 hours of the procedure, my symptoms were completely gone. It’s pretty amazing how that little stent can make so much of a difference!
To my shock I was diagnosed with deep venous occlusion (DVO), no one in my family had this type of vascular disease.”
How Others Can Take the Step Toward Better Health
It’s been about 15 months since my procedure and I’m finally starting to feel normal again. I never thought it was possible after everything I went through.
But I am in this great place and so happy to share my story with others. For those faced with similar circumstances, I would encourage them not to give up. Even if you need to go to several doctors—take the step and get checked out thoroughly! Your health depends on it.
Sometimes what you read online isn’t always accurate and it doesn’t encompass every aspect of the disease. But a specialist can evaluate you thoroughly, provide resources for support, and appropriate options for therapy if you need it.
I’m grateful to now be in this position of positive health and I wish others the same on their journey to wellness.
Model for illustrative purposes only.
It was scary to know that this disease was behind all those years of terrible symptoms. I’m grateful to now be in this position of positive health and I wish others the same on their journey to wellness.”
More Patient Stories
PAD Stories
Many PAD patients experience a gradual decline in activity level and quality of life which can go unnoticed for years. Learn about Joe’s suspicions and his perseverance to seek help.
CLI Stories
Early intervention can be key for critical limb ischemia (CLI). Learn about Mark’s struggles and triumph to overcome CLI.
DVT Stories
Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) can strike quickly with little notice. Learn more about Reid’s condition and his road to recovery.
Helpful Resources
PVD Doctor
Discussion Guide
Get helpful tips and advice on how to talk to your doctor about a PVD screening.
DVD Brochure
Find out more information on DVD by downloading this helpful brochure.
Third-Party Resources
Helpful Websites
Apps
A mobile app built by cardiologists, to simplify understanding of most cardiac and peripheral vascular conditions and treatments.
Find a Doctor that Treats DVD
If you think you may have DVD, it is important to get help. Talk to your doctor, or use our Doctor Finder tool below to find a DVD specialist near you.
Blaine Borders
102 Thomas Rd. Suite 205 | West Monroe, LA, 71291
Pat Neville
4600 Memorial Dr. Suite 240 | Belleville, IL, 62226
Charles Wyble
61 Witcher Street, Suite 2100 | Marietta, GA, 30060
David Gillespie
363 Highland Ave | Fall River, MA, 2720
Polly Kokinos
2255 S. Bascom Avenue #200 | Campbell, CA, 95008
Howard Roth
23120 South LaGrange Road | Frankfort, IL, 60423
Anthony Avino, MD, FACS
4750 Water Avenue, Suite 500 | Savannah, GA, 31410
Murat Sor
3833 Fairfax Drive | Arlingston, VA, 22205
Mahesh Raju
3825 highland ave | downers Grove, IL, 60515
Kenneth Wright
19189 N Dale Mabry Hwy | Lutz, FL, 33548
Rick Coats
4600 Memorial Dr # 240 | Belleville, IL, 62260
Sendhil Subramanian
7130 Mt. Zion Blvd, Suite #10 | Jonesboro, GA, 30236
Richard Pin
363 Highland Ave | Fall River, MA, 2720
James McPherson
4644 Lincoln Blvd. Suite 500 | Marina del Rey, CA, 90292
Ben Marson
85 Old Kings Highway N, 1st Floor | Darien, CT, 6820
E. Jerry Cohn Jr., MD, FACS
4750 Water Avenue, Suite 500 | Savannah, GA, 31410
George Hemstreet
100 Rice Mine Road Loop | Tuscaloosa, AL, 35406
Harold Tabaie
18905 Sherman Way | Reseda, CA, 91335
Alberto Gonzalez
19189 N Dale Mabry Hwy | Lutz, FL, 33548
Ayaz Malik
1035 Bellevue Ave #500 | St. Louis, MO, 63117
Isabel Newton
200 W Arbor Dr. | San Diego, CA, 92103
Michael Ayad
363 Highland Avenue | Fall River, MA, 2720
Jozsef Lukacs
24800 S.E. Stark St. | Gresham, OR, 97030
Timothy Manoni
85 Old Kings Highway N, 1st Floor | Darien, CT, 6820
Larry Horesh, MD
4750 Water Avenue, Suite 500 | Savannah, GA, 31410
Amiel Moshfegh
11411 Brookshire Ave | Downey, CA, 90241
Lev Pukin M.D
2560 Ocean Ave | Brooklyn, NY, 11229
Parag Patel
6633 Forest Ave #300 | New Port Richey, FL, 34653
Hoang Nguyen
2 Good Samaritan Way Suite 220 | Mt. Vernon, IL, 62864
(Charles) Daniel Procter
725 Jesse Jewell Parkway #125 | Gainesville, GA, 30501
Michael Naumann
7777 Alvarado Road, Suite 108 | La Mesa, CA, 91942
Stephen Lalka
1001 Blythe Blvd., Suite 300 | Charlotte, NC, 28203
Taras Kucher
495 Hawley Lane, Suite 2-A | Stratford, CT, 6614
Junyang Lou
520 Medical Center Drive | Medford, OR, 97504
Michael Lepore
600 North Cattlemen Rd | Sarasota, FL, 34232
Robert Freedman
3311 Prescott Road | Alexandria, LA, 71301
Daniel Simon
347 Mount Pleasant Ave Suite 100 | West Orange, NJ, 7052
Daniel McDevitt
1035 Southcrest Dr, Suite 250 | Stockbridge, GA, 30281
Marvin Padnick
350 South 40th Street | Muskogee, OK, 74401
Patrick Mahon
87 McGregor Street | Manchester, NH, 3102
Jamie Strachan
1449 Old Waterbury Rd, Suite 101 | Southbury, CT, 6488
Aaron Aday
75 Francis St | Boston, MA, 02115
Russell Samson
600 North Cattlemen Rd | Sarasota, FL, 34232
Raghotham Patlola
5003 Hardy St, Ste 200 | Hattiesburg, MS, 39402
Bruce Brenner
200 S. Orange Ave | Livingston, NJ, 7052
Ernest Conti
3929 Mercy Drive | McHenry, IL, 60050
Sanjeev Trehan
6151 South Yale Ave Suite 1304 | Tulsa, OK, 74136
Tara Balint
2010 Health Campus Drive | Harrisonburg, VA, 22801
Stephen Bauer
1445 East Putman Ave, 1st Floor | Old Greenwich, CT, 6870
Deepak Nair
600 N Cattlemen Rd | Sarasota, FL, 34232
David Showalter
600 North Cattlemen Rd | Sarasota, Florida, 34232
Andrew Olinde
5131 O'Donovan Drive 301 | Baton Rouge, LA, 70808
Allison Barone
250 Engle Street | Englewood, NJ, 7631
Thomas Lutz
15 Tower Ct Suite 200 | Gurnee, IL, 60031
Mark Iafrati
800 Washington st | Boston, MA, 2111
Jerry Chen
2775 Laurel Street, Room 4203 | Vancouver, BC, V5Z1M9
Jonathan Bowman
495 Hawley Lane, Suite 2-A | Stratford, CT, 6614
Paul Vitulli
915 W Monroe St | Jacksonville, FL, 32004
Douglas Dorsay
600 North Cattlemen Rd | Sarasota, Florida, 34232
Carl Fastabend
501 Dr. Michael DeBakey Drive (3rd Floor) | Lake Charles, LA, 70601
Thomas Lee
131 Madison Avenue 2nd Floor | Morristown, NJ, 7960
Peter Swischuk
3109 Stirling rd. Suite 100 | Fort Lauderdale, FL, 33312
David Draughn, FACS, RVT, RPVI
15825 John J Delaney Dr | Charlotte, NC, 28277
Joe Viramontes
960 N 16th Street Suite 108 | Springfield, OR, 97477
Michael Sergi
75 Kings highway Cutoff, Suite 4B | Fairfield, CT, 6824
Manish Chauhan
2200 Park bend | Austin, TX, 78757
James Cunningham
8767 Perimeter Park Blvd | Jacksonville, FL, 32216
Nouri Al-Khaled
4400 W 95th Street, Suite 306 | Oak Lawn, IL, 60453
Cindy Sturt
200 S. Orange Ave | Livingston, NJ, 7039
Jesus Jimenez
2800 S Seacrest Dr. Suite 200 | Boyton Beach, FL, 33435
Andrei Pop
800 Biesterfield Road | Elk Grove Village, IL, 60007
Ediberto Soto-Cora
1139 Caper Rd | El Paso, TX, 79925
Kaveh Shahmohammadi
1449 Old Waterbury Rd, Suite 101 | Southbury, CT, 6488
Lori Pounds
7703 Floyd Curl Drive | SanAntonio, Texas, 78229
Alex Caballero
1879 Nightinglae Ln | Tavares , Florida, 32778
Thomas Levin
10837 South Cicero Avenue Suite 200 | Oak Lawn, IL, 60453
Leandro Perez
8188 Jog Rd. Suite 100 | Boyton Beach, FL, 33427
Jose Almeida
1501 S Miami Ave. | Miami Beach, FL, 33129
Saba Khan
800 Biesterfield Road | Elk Grove Village, IL, 60007
Jordan Knepper
5325 Elliot Drive, Suite 101 | Ypsilanti, MI, 48197
Jason Andre
12720 McManus Blvd, Suite 303 | Newport News, VA, 23602
Micheal Ayad
300A Faunce Corner Rd N | Darthmouth, MA, 02908
Yazan Khatib
Suite #160, FL, 32256
Santhosh Mathews
316 Manatee Ave W | Bradenton, FL, 34205
Patricio Rosa
601 N Flamingo Rd. Suite 408 | Pembroke Pines, FL, 33028
Akhilesh Sista
2315 Broadway 4th floor | New York, NY, 10024
Kathleen Gibson
1135 116th Avenue NE, Suite 305 | Bellevue, WA, 98004
James Sampson
101 Bodin Circle 60 SGCS/SGCH | Travis AFB, CA, 94535
Brian Heeringa
880 Munson Ave, Suite A | Traverse City, MI, 49686
Ravi Chandra
1920 SW 20th Place | Ocala, Florida, 34471
Vaqar Ali
7011 AC Skinner Parkway | Jacksonville, FL, 32256
David Burkart
4801 College Blvd | Leawood, KS, 66214
Asad Sawar
3010 E. 138th Avenue Suite 12 | Tampa, FL, 33613
Andrew Barleben
9434 Medical Center Dr. | La Jolla, CA, 92037
Gennady Geskin
6637 State Route 30 | Jeannette, PA, 15644
William Grande
8200 east Belleview Ave Suite 600e | Greenwood Village, CO, 80111
Jeffrey Carr
1783 Troup Highway | Tyler, TX, 75701
Vincent Digiovanni
Riddle Health Center 3, 1098 W Baltimore Pike, Suite 3308 | Media, PA, 19063
Ido Weinberg
55 Fruit St | Boston, MA, 02114
Dale Buchbinder
1212 York Road | Lutherville, MD, 31093
Paul Gagne
85 Old Kings Highway North | Darien, CT, 6820
Vasco Marques
3010 E. 138th Avenue Suite 12 | Tampa, FL, 33613
Scott Koss
725 American Ave | Waukesha, WI, 53188
Janardhan Srinivasan
2232 Wilborn Avenue | South Boston, VA, 24592
Steve Lin
1401 Harrodsburg Rd Ste A300 | Lexington, KY, 40509
Kais Yehyawi
6375 W US 6 | Portage, IN, 46368
Diego Hernandez
43700 Woodward Avenue, Suite 207 | Bloomfield Hills, MI, 48302
Deepak Sudheendra
3400 Spruce Street | Philadelphia, PA, 19104
Fuad Rafidi
23101 Sherman Place | West Hills, CA, 91307
Thomas Kerr
19189 N Dale Mabry Hwy | Lutz, FL, 33548
Hesham Fakhri
3010 E. 138th Avenue Suite 12 | Tampa, FL, 33613
Aaron Hurd
630 13th Street Suite 250 | Augusta, GA, 30901
Sunil Rayan
9850 Genesee Ave | La Jolla, CA, 92037
David Lipski
6420 Dutchmans Pkwy Suite 180 | Louisville, KY, 40205
Rias Ali
4740 Mile Stretch Drive | Holiday, FL, 34690
Jed Peterson
10123 SE Market Street | Portland, OR, 97216
Constantino Pena
8900 North Kendall Drive | Miami, FL, 33176
Zahi Nassoura
2710 Alameda Ave | Burbank, CA, 91505
Nader Chadda
6633 Forest Ave Ste 302 | New Port Richey, FL, 34653
Richard Ofstein
8075 N Shadeland Ave Ste 200 | Indianapolis, IN, 46037
Robert Davies
1301 Sigman Road, NE Suite 130 | Conyers, GA, 30012
Elizabeth Brooke Spencer, MD, FSIR
8200 east Belleview ave Suite 600 E | Greenwood Village, CO, 80111
Mazen Abu-Fadel
825 NE 10th St #2500 | Oklahoma City, OK, 73104
David Frankel
10666 N. Torrey Pines Rd. | La Jolla, CA, 92037
Patricia Thorpe
333 W Thomas Rd, Suite 207A | Phoenix, AZ, 85013
Peder Horner
1746 Cole Boulevard | Lakewood, CO, 80401
Fuad Rafidi
2710 | Burbank, CA, 91505
Gene Tanquilut
20060 Governors Drive Suite 102 | Olympia Fields, IL, 60461
Kannan Natarajan
8433 Harcourt Rd. Suite 100 | Indianapolis, IN, 46260
Charles Ross
95 Collier Road NW Suite 5015 | Atlanta, GA, 30309
Windsor Ting
1468 Madison Avenue or 1190 Fifth Avenue | New York, NY, 10029
Dev Mangalat
705 Jesse Jewell Parkway 125 | Gainseville, GA, 30501
Arun Jagannathan
23120 South LaGrange Road | Frankfort, IL, 60423
Michael Flisak
3231 South Euclid Avenue, Suite 207A | Berwyn, IL, 60402
Shahin Pourrabbani
3680 Imperial Highway | Lynwood, CA, 90262
Joe Viramontes, MD
960 N 16th Street | Springfield, OR, 97477
This tool is not inclusive of all specialists. Consult with your insurance provider to find specialists that are covered within your network.
Disclaimer
The opinions and clinical experiences presented herein are for informational purposes only. Individual results may vary depending on a variety of patient specific attributes and related factors. Dr. Raghu Kolluri has been compensated by Philips for his services in preparing and providing this material for Philips further use and distribution. The patients featured on this page are not patients of Dr. Kolluri.
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