Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Shalon on January 10, 2010 at 1:38pm

Hi Rosemary,

Most likely the knot is just a bruise left over. The blood sometimes escapes from the artery while they are poking around and just hardens there to eventually breakdown and be reabsorbed. And the sharp pains are probably just a nerve getting annoyed with some of the left over swelling and such.

I have angios every month and sometimes there is more bruising and will leave a bump. I do however, ALWAYS call the docs office if something new seems to come up. And at this point I just preface it with "I know I'm turning into a hypochondriac but here is my new symptom..." They have never made me feel anything but glad to have made the call. It's always better safe than sorry.

I would say you shouldn't be too worried. As long as the puncture sight is closed and looks stable, you are prob good to go. But def tell your doc just in case. :)
Shalon

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by JH on January 10, 2010 at 2:19pm

Hi Rosemary,

My husband's doctor used a closure device to seal the insertion site, and he remembers having a bump there that was a bit painful if pressed.

I would add to Shalon's advice: double-check your discharge papers for info. If your doctor happened to use a closure device to close up the puncture site, you would have a little pamphlet describing what to look out for at the site.

Jorie

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Rosemary Weston-Brown on January 10, 2010 at 7:04pm

thank you so much for the info Shalon, You have angios monthly??... bless your heart.. I read everything I could to prepare myself.. and thought I had all the info I could possibly need but I was still very emotional when I met my radiologist and even when they wheeled me in for the procedure, I was embarrassed because I could hardly even talk.. lol... the only thing that surprised me was after the procedure they put a clamp on me (similar to the one I've seen my husband use while working with wood) they just screwed it down very tightly to put pressure on the opening and left it for 20 minutes.. very painful.... I don't know if this is common or not.. but I do live in rural MS... hopefully this is not some barbaric device that was used 100 years ago... haha... but I made it.. and it great to hear from someone who is so knowledgeable... thanks for sharing with me..

Jorie,

same to you... thank you for sharing with me.. they did not use a closure device.. it was a very small area... much smaller than I thought it would be.. I remember looking at it when I was ready to leave and it was covered with this small little band aid and I thought.. you've got to be kidding me.. I expected stitches or something the size of my palm.. lol.. and no pain med's.. I told the nurse I felt they were being stingy with their pain medicine and she said it was rare for the radiologist to issue pain meds due to regulatory reasons???? but I had brought my own.. thank goodness.. but my little lump seems similar to what your husband described.. just sore to the touch..the bruise is much larger than the incision site.. it looks ugly put prob from that barbaric device they used..lol.... thank you ladies again for sharing.. I LOVE THIS SITE! great to be able to hear first hand experiences from everyone! god bless you both!!

Shalon said:

Hi Rosemary,
Most likely the knot is just a bruise left over. The blood sometimes escapes from the artery while they are poking around and just hardens there to eventually breakdown and be reabsorbed. And the sharp pains are probably just a nerve getting annoyed with some of the left over swelling and such.
I have angios every month and sometimes there is more bruising and will leave a bump. I do however, ALWAYS call the docs office if something new seems to come up. And at this point I just preface it with "I know I'm turning into a hypochondriac but here is my new symptom..." They have never made me feel anything but glad to have made the call. It's always better safe than sorry.

I would say you shouldn't be too worried. As long as the puncture sight is closed and looks stable, you are prob good to go. But def tell your doc just in case. :)
Shalon

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Shalon on January 10, 2010 at 7:16pm

Rosemary- you are very welcome!

And ya, I used to freak out and get very emotional as well. And I was always super paranoid about the incision site for the angio. I mean that's an artery!!! And I always imagined like murder moving bleeding if it somehow burst open. When they would put a bandage on it I was afraid to take it off (they use that clear coverall kind of sticker most of the time.) Seriously abotu 5 years ago (before my monthly angios) I took a shower days after the angio and was taking it off and was almost hyperventilating due to my freak out! ha ha! Now I'm just so used to it and it's routine so no biggy. But I remember how the unknown was so scary and I can absolutely understand!

And after reading Jorie's post I do remember that another member on this site had a plug of some kind used for his as well. I don't remember the details, but it definitely was more sore and actually painful. They apparently take months to desolve. I doubt that's what you had as I'm sure, as Jorie said, they have to make you aware of it.

Glad you like the site. I think it's a pretty cool place as well! glad we could help a little.
Shalon

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Kim R on January 10, 2010 at 8:28pm

I had the same thing happen after an angio at Mayo. It will go away==I was afraid it wouldn't and that it would always feel that way --I wasn't sent home with any pain meds either and called Ask a nurse and they told me to rotate taking Ibuprofen one time and tylenol the next and that worked much better for the pain than just taking either one alone. Kim

• ▶ Reply