I had an uncommon variety of DVT - venous thoracic outlet. My clotting was structural - the vein was trapped between the to rib, the collar bone, and a muscle. On one side, they removed the top rib, so since I didn't have an underlying clotting disorder, there is no more risk of clotting on that side.
The other is more complex - it was earlier and they knew almost nothing. They had not discovered the rib removal solution yet - so it is pretty much permanently clotted off, with no risk of moving anywhere because the structure that created it also traps it there (and now it's some sort of scar tissue, rather than a clot). I was hospitalized for a full month, both trying to treat it, as well as stabilizing on heparin, then shifting to warfarin for home treatment. I lost count at 100 blood draws from my right hand during that month. It was the only site they could use, since it has to be below the heparin drip, and they couldn't use the left arm because the left arm resembled an eggplant, since it wasn't getting back to me heart at anything close to the normal rate.
I have humongous collateral veins on that side that carry the blood back to my heart - since they go around the thoracic outlet, there is no clotting risk there, either.
Nothing is ever simple with me and medicine. But I'm glad the complexity here let me get off of blood thinners/anticoagulants. I haven't been on them since the rib was removed in 2010. My numbers were never stable, even with very careful control of vitamin K intake.
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