Patient Story: Amelia Litterio

Amelia Litterio thought she knew what to expect following a routine meniscus surgery on her right knee. After all, she had the same surgery on her left knee two years ago.

“It was textbook,” Amelia said of the recent procedure. “I went home, took my baby aspirin and wore my compression stockings.”

However, within days, Amelia’s story took a near-fatal turn due to a pulmonary embolism (PE), a blood clot that lodged in an artery in her lung.

The first indication that something was wrong occurred 72 hours after her surgery. It was Monday morning and Amelia felt a minor pain in her right calf. “I told myself that I must have slept on it wrong,” she said.

Later that day, she mentioned the pain at a follow-up appointment and was told to monitor the situation. Upon exiting the facility, she recalled feeling incredibly ill all of a sudden. “I didn’t know if I was going to faint, throw up, or both. And I couldn’t breathe,” she said.

Despite the symptoms, Amelia, now 69, did not seek help from medical staff. Instead, she waited for her ride outside, where the ill feeling subsided. Although she had been told that surgery increases clot risk, she said she did not associate her symptoms with clot.

“It never really occurred to me,” Amelia said. “Even when I woke up with slight discomfort in my leg, a blood clot was the furthest thing from my mind. Even when I was leaving the hospital, the pain in my leg had gone away. I had no pain in my chest, and it was only slightly hard to breathe.”

The full brunt of her situation came just two hours after arriving home from her follow-up. Amelia’s smartwatch sounded a distress signal, telling her that her heart rate had spiked to 146 beats per minute! Without hesitation, Amelia’s wife drove her to the emergency room near their home in Plano, TX.

“Before they even ran a test, the attending physician looked at me and said, ‘You have a blood clot in your lungs,’” Amelia recalled.

Immediately, the medical staff started a heparin drip and ordered a battery of tests, including a CT scan, to confirm the diagnosis. Dr. Sameh Sayfo, an interventional cardiologist, said Amelia met all the criteria for a high-risk submassive PE.

“Her case was unique. Her case – every lab, every vital, even her story – was screaming something needs to be done urgently,” Dr. Sayfo said.

To address the multiple clots lodged in her lungs, Dr. Sayfo performed computer assisted vacuum thrombectomy (CAVT), a minimally invasive procedure in which a tube-like catheter is used to aspirate or “suck out” the clot with the help of a computer.

Dr. Sayfo recalled that “the moment we took the first clot out, the first aspiration, she said, ‘Oh, I feel something different. I can breathe.’ That’s exactly what we want to hear. This is the moment you know you did something to change the patient’s medical course.”

In Amelia’s case, she showed significant improvement the following day and, as a result, was discharged less than 24 hours after arriving at the hospital.

Listen to Your Body

Today, Amelia is feeling great. Retired from a career in human resources, she’s back doing her favorite activities, such as cooking dishes that reflect her Italian heritage. She and her wife have even started to do a bit of hiking. “I’m happy to be here,” she said.

Looking back on the ordeal, Amelia’s key takeaway from the experience, and advice she now gives to others, is not to wait until you are in crisis mode to seek help.

“Listen to your body,” she said. “If anything feels wrong, don’t feel awkward about going to the hospital.”