Anchorage Daily News

Olympic cross-country skier Kikkan Randall of Anchorage returned for more surgery at Providence Alaska Medical Center on Tuesday after doctors detected a new blood clot in her left leg.

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Kikkan Randall

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The discovery during a follow-up exam Monday "was a bit of a surprise," said Randall, who underwent operations on the same vein 12 days earlier to remove a potentially life-threatening blockage diagnosed as deep vein thrombosis, or DVT.

The news followed by only a few days Randall learning on Thursday that she's at risk for developing multiple blood clots due to a hereditary condition known as Factor V Leiden, a genetic tendency toward clotting.

On the positive side, she said, detection of the new clot solved the mystery about why her leg was still in so much pain two weeks after her first surgery.

"So that's why I wasn't feeling better," said Randall, 25, whose status as one of the best cross-country sprint racers in the world may be threatened by her new condition.

During her first operation, a vascular surgeon at Providence inserted a catheter into the iliac vein behind Randall's left knee and used a device called an angiojet to spray a clot-busting drug on the blockage -- which stretched nearly 18 inches, from her knee to her hip.

"Simultaneously, the device kind of vacuums it up," Randall said.

Her doctors told her then that nearly all of the thrombosis had been removed, which reduced the danger that part of the clot might break free and float through her heart to her lungs, resulting in a pulmonary embolism. But an ultrasound test Monday determined that the upper end of the vein, near her hip, was still too narrow - and a new clot had formed. Doctors were expected to repeat the same surgery Tuesday afternoon, then insert an angioplasty balloon to widen the vein. This time she’s hoping for a faster recovery, said Randall, who’s due to get married in May to Alaska Pacific University teammate Jeff Ellis. On Monday she was relieved to hear her hematologist say that she may need to remain on blood-thinning Coumadin medication for only six months. That would allow her to race without a handicap by winter. “So I think I’m going to be able to train fine,” Randall said. “I just have to be a little careful, that’s all.” Find George Bryson online at adn.com/contact/gbryson or call 257-4318.

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