Deep venous thrombosis in patients undergoing salvage radical cystectomy

The possible occurrence of venous thrombosis in tumor-bearing patients had already been reported by Trousseau in the past century. The blood clotting alterations in cancer-bearing patients can cause Deep Venous Thrombosis (DVT), especially in those patients with disseminated metastases. Anti-tumor chemotherapy can increase the risk of thrombosis. Herein we report our past experience on a sample of patients who underwent pelvic surgery to treat infiltrating bladder tumors. We have retrospectively analyzed the records of patients with infiltrating bladder tumors who underwent salvage radical cystectomy. We observed the highest incidence of DVT (33.3%; 3 out of 9) in those patients with a higher risk due to anesthesia and an absolute need for extensive surgery. One of our patients died of pulmonary embolism. The diagnosis of DVT and Pulmonary Embolism is not always easy to achieve and all possible tests must be performed whenever possible (e.g. clinical examination, hematological test, etc.).