Heparin and a blood clot?

My father was recently hospitalized for a hugely large blood clot in his femoral artery. They put him on heparin and said they required to see if it would thin out the clot so that they don't have to do surgery. From what I've read heparin won't dissolve an already existing clot but prevent any more from forming. So, very soon I'm not only a bit confused, but worried as well. They want to do surgery Tuesday if the clot hasn't changed by next. Can anyone tell me what they think the reasoning losing the doctors is on the heparin? Isn't there another medication they could use or is surgery really the only answer?

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Answers:    Heparin prevents adjectives clots from forming and also acts as a catalyst to help one's body to break down a clot (think of it as jumpstarting the indignity process).

Doctors are considering surgery because of the size of the clot and it's location. There are drugs that would help to break down the clot, but one can't be sure that the clot will completely dissolve. If the clot were only to be broken down into smaller components, there's the possibility that it will cause a pulmonary embolism, stroke, etc., which would be much more serious than your father's current situation.

Doctor's are doing the right thing by considering to surgically remove the clot. And if it make you feel better, it's a rather routine procedure.

Please don't rely solely on this direction though, I'm just a med student...

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The drug Heparin affects each individual differently. It prevents the formation of investigational blood clots even in low doses. Some studies show that high doses may stifle the size of an emboli and even prevent it from reaching the vital organs. The doctors may have looked-for to give him heparin so as to avoid surgery, but if the clot was not reduced, after there's no other option especially to lower the risks of the clot reaching the vital organs close to the heart and lungs, which may cause immediate release, even with resuscitation. It thins the blood so the clot does not get larger sometimes they do dissolve
Good Luck

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Oral blood thinners resembling Warfarin (brand name coumadin) don't generally do anything toward dissolving a clot but heparin can although not commonly. this is the procedure I would expect. They can't put surgery past its sell-by date for long because this is potentially a very dangerous condition.
They'll probably put him on coumadin after he go home to prevent any further clots from forming. Possibly put in a filter before he go home. a filter that the blood circulates through catching any clots to keep the clots from blocking arteries or entering the heart or lungs. That probably depends on the cause of the clots and any fears of another forming and entering an organ.. If they put the filter surrounded by he'll also need to be on the Coumadin to thin the blood satisfactory to go through the filter. If they do that you'll probably be asking all roughly vitamin K next week. If they do put him on coumadin and you want some advice on diet touch free to email me.
My mother, who I care for, had problems beside blood clots, finally had one in her lung that resulted within having a vena cava filter implanted. 've pretty much got the unharmed blood thinner/diet thing down pat..
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