Phlebitis at Catheter Insertion Site

Sorry is this is a repeat post... I started a new thread last night but it never showed up.

It's been six days since my ablation and my recovery was going mostly well. On days 3-6 I was going out on walks, starting short and extending it each day (20-40 minutes). The only notable discomfort has been tender, hard femoral veins at the catheter insertion sites. I also have large areas of purple bruising around the sites, though that's not as bothersome.

Yesterday was the first day I wore jeans and drove in my car, going out to a store and a restaurant. It was uncomfortable around the insertion site, and the discomfort increased even after I took the jeans off a few hours later. Otherwise this week, I had been wearing loose fitting shorts and sweatpants.

Today I feel like I'm a few steps back in my recovery, feeling wiped out, and the discomfort at the insertion site seems greater.

Is it common to have hardness and tenderness in the femoral veins post-ablation?

I was prescribed Eliquis and baby aspirin after the ablation, so hopefully that will minimize any threat of pulmonary embolism, but I'm not sure if to be concerned by the femoral phlebitis.

I doubt it's phlebitis. What you've described sounds like you had some bleeding at the sites and thus have hematomas. They can feel like hard balls under the skin, and they can be very uncomfortable if they press against the femoral nerve (been there, done that). The good news is they're harmless and don't present a risk of pulmonary embolism. The will resolve on their own, but it can take a while (weeks).

The combination of aspirin with the Eliquis is a little unusual, and that could well have contributed to the hematomas forming. Do you have some other issue that led the doctor to add the aspirin?

Why you feel wiped out today is a whole 'nother question and it's probably unrelated to the hematomas.

I was wondering at first if they were hematomas, but the hard spots seem to perfectly follow the course of the veins and feel rope-like and thus my speculation it could be phlebitis.

I agree the combination of aspirin and Eliquis seems odd, based on my recent research since it dramatically increases the risk of bleeding. I wonder if it was a mistake of the EP nurse, who coordinated the discharge instructions. I was taking baby aspirin prior to the ablation, so maybe they just failed to remove it from the list of meds. Maybe I'll stop taking it until I can speak to someone in the office on Tuesday.

Seems to be common at catheter insertion sites, and warm compresses are supposed to help.

A hematoma could have spread along the course of the vein and thus would follow the vein and feel rope-like. If you develop a fever or redness and swelling at the site then by all means have it looked at, but I think it's most likely a hematoma, especially given the bruising. That proves there was bleeding.