EXTENSIVE BULLAE FORMATION IN ACUTE ILIOFEMORAL VENOUS THROMBOSIS

A 58-year-old man presented with an acutely painful swollen left leg w hich was cyanotic and crowded with cutaneous bullae. After confirmatio n with color duplex ultrasound, intravenous streptokinase therapy was commenced with a bolus of 250,000 IU followed by maintenance infusion of 100,000 IU hourly for 72 hours. Treatment was changed to heparin fo r 14 days and then oral warfarin for another 6 months. Effacement of b ullae accompanied subsidence of swelling of the leg. This case highlig hts the potential contribution of fluid retention in acute deep venous thrombosis to extensive bullae formation. This has not been previousl y reported in the literature.