Clare Foreman was relaxing on the couch at 34-weeks-pregnant, when an agonising pain shot up her leg and abdomen. Her mother’s instinct kicked in – she knew something wasn’t right.

“I felt a pop and there was intense pain from my leg up into my abdomen,” the Queenslander explained.

“My leg went a different colour and started to swell up immediately and we knew it was time to go to hospital for further investigation.”

Clare had experienced some pain in her left leg throughout her pregnancy, but a seemingly harmless movement on the couch triggered her into action.

While Clare knew something was seriously wrong, she had no idea just how much danger she, and her unborn baby, were in. She had developed a potentially lethal, 30cm blood clot in her deep femoral vein.

After being admitted to hospital, she was treated with standard blood thinners, but she was still in agony. Her leg was so swollen she couldn’t even walk to the bathroom.

Her pregnancy posed a dilemma. Clot-busting drugs usually used to treat Deep Vein Thrombosis would threaten her unborn baby’s life.

So Mater Private Hospital Brisbane vascular surgeon Dr Danny Hagley performed a pioneering procedure, just days after baby Isabel was delivered via c-section.

Dr Hagley became the first surgeon in Queensland to use the cutting-edge Inari ClotTriever device last year. This time he was able to remove Clare’s ‘unusually large’ clot via a tiny 1cm incision.

“Clare’s condition was not just painful, it was also very dangerous,” Dr Hagley said.

“A multidisciplinary team of specialists worked together to ensure Isabel’s safe arrival, while making sure Clare’s health and wellbeing was not compromised.

“Prior to her DVT surgery, we put a clot filter in via Clare’s neck to minimise the chance of clotting moving to her heart and lungs during the delivery of baby Isabel.”

The ClotTriever device uses a metal ring which opposes the edges of the vein connected to a mesh collecting basket which is inserted directly into the vein and surrounds the clot, which is then safely removed out of the bloodstream.

“Without the ClotTriever, Clare would have had significant risk of bleeding from her caesarean section surgery or have to go undergo major open surgery and would have faced a lengthy recovery time,” Dr Hagley explained.

“Clare’s surgery was so successful that she was up and walking the next day and out of hospital the same week.”

Clare said the whole experience was ‘incredibly daunting’ but she had confidence in the medical team.

“My husband Stuart and I both cried tears of relief once we knew how the problem was going to be dealt with because it had all been so scary,” she said.

“It was amazing to be up and walking the day after surgery and holding Isabel for the first time.”