Occlusion of femoral artery 30 years after radiation treatment.

@sandraspurses, wow. Radiation is often coined as a the gift that keeps on giving. While not specific to radiation late-term effects, you might appreciate this related discussion in the Heart & Blood Health support group:
- I am 75, multiple autoimmune diseases, occluded femoral artery
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/i-am-75-multiple-autoimmune-diseases-occluded-femoral-artery/
What did you learn from the vascular specialist?

Thank you for your reply! Ha! Ha!..the gift that keeps giving!!! I am thankful to radiation for saving my leg tho! The Vascular specialist said that the deep femoral artery is 75% blocked but there has been lateral 'feeders' on that system. He has put me on low dose aspirin and 20mg Lipitor...a walking test (different from plain walking ...where they measure how long it take for there to be pain)..another leg 'blood pressure' test in 6 months..as from the knee down, there are no blockages and nearly normal blood flow...only in the groin to 12 cm above the knee from the femerol origin...same area as the radiation. I see the doc in 6 months and if all remains the same then I will just continue to be monitored and not have surgery. I had contacted radiation oncology at Virginia Mason, Seattle (where I go and where my treatment was) as to any studies of long term affects of radiation and the blood vessels...have heard nothing! I will check out the site you recommended. Thanks.

@sandraspurses

Hi! I am the other one suprised with late effects of conventional radiotherapy!!! Nobody warned me!
In 2005 I was diagnosed with a malignant schwannoma of my left thigh, located in the femoral nerve. After it was removed with safe margins, I received strong chemotherapy and radiation therapy. After 20 years, I am experiencing the late effects of radiation therapy, with nerve damage and muscle loss. More recently, as a result of the muscle damage, I am having problems with my knee and a meniscus tear.
Do you have other side effects beside the Occlusion of femoral artery? (And that's quite a lot!)

@schwannoma Hi, This is Sandra...I also have a lot of muscle loss and because of the removal of the major vein at the time of the surgery and a lot of muscle ! the leg is weak ...and without a major vein, I have swelling in the leg. I do have spider size veins and little 'feeders' off the artery. A good thing is that I still have decent blood pressure in my lower leg...the doc has me on statins and baby aspirin and I have a machine that I put my leg in every night that relieves the leg of the swelling. I am seeing a Vascular Doc for all of this...he even had me in a 6 month cardiac rehab program at the hospital to help circulation. What sort of therapy are you doing? We both are thankful, aren't we, that we have our legs. Hope to hear back from you.

Dear Sandra,

Thank you so much for you feedback. Oh my god! By now, I don't have any problems with major veins. In the future, I already wait for other surprises... However, I have many varicose veins outside my legs. Is your muscle loss a cause of radiation or is related to the removal of the vein? How long did you do your treatments? Mine was a malignant schwannoma, now named as a malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor (MPNST), or malignant schwannoma.

I am waiting for hyperbaric treatment; even without certainty of success, I will try it.
I will also join a gym, as physiotherapy didn't seem to have great results in terms of muscle strengthening.

Which machine you put in your leg in every night that relieves the leg of the swelling?

The most recent injury, which started about a year and a half ago, and which I learned was a nerve injury, was a huge shock to me. I wasn't expecting any of this, because although I've always had symptoms since the treatments, I lost all my muscles and my knee was okay. This is a tremendous shock, as I'm drastically losing quality of life. All of this happened in just over a year, and I've been in treatment for 20 years.

Thank you so much.
Paula.