On Friday I took Wren to Children's Hospital for an ultrasound study of his leg veins. They were looking to see whether there was any reason for his still swollen left leg.
It turns out that the culprit is his ileac vein. After the cath we were told that it was blocked and had collaterals thus preventing access for the cath procedure. Somehow, this fact didn't make it to file and so the ultrasound people were concerned when they saw this occlusion. After reviewing the file they said that the vein is completely blocked and the collateral is probably providing some resistance so the leg does not drain as well as before. He is likely to have a slightly larger left leg all his life.
This is a common complication when veins collapse after a procedure. In Wren's case it was probably caused by one of the lines used during his first surgery when he was a newborn.
They said they also see babies with swollen legs after vaccinations "all the time" and guessed that since the swelling became noticable after a vaccination that the swelling was exaccerbated by this new assault.
In future all shots should be in the right leg... or rather NOT in the left leg.
I am waiting to talk to Dr Lewin about possible remediating treatments. He mentioned elevating the leg but I am not sure how to do that in practice.
I feel a bit sad for Wren. Unlike his heart, this is something that his body got right but it was damaged in hospital. I hope it becomes less severe over time or we can do something to improve it.
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