MIAMI (WSVN) - Months into the COVID-19 pandemic, a South Florida surgeon discussed a possible early indicator that’s not on the list of symptoms associated with the deadly virus.
Speaking with 7News on Friday, Dr. Jorge Rey, a vascular surgeon at the University of Miami Health System, described the indicator as bruising on the forearm.
“We call this thing a chemosis. Essentially, it’s sort of a bruise under the forearm,” he said.
Rey said the bruises are small blood clots under the skin caused by COVID-19.
“This is a patient who came to one of our ERs and initially presented symptoms of the arm,” he said.
The University of Miami published a study in the Journal of Vascular Surgery after blood clots developed on the 67-year-old patient, who had no previous medical history of clotting.
“It came with the classic symptom of lack of circulation in the arm,” said Rey.
The patient had severe discoloration on his right arm, significant pain and motor function issues. He was unable to move his hand.
What the patient did not know is that he had contracted COVID-19.
“The surprising part was that we found in the CAT scan the clots, but we also found changes in the lungs that are very typical of COVID-19.”
The medical term for the blood clots is arterial thrombosis. Rey said it was among the patient’s first symptoms, as opposed to the usual symptoms, such as fever, a dry cough and headaches.
“We didn’t know that that can be the first symptom,” he said. “We have seen people who have COVID-19 and have associated leg problems with lack of circulation, arm problems with lack of circulation, but as a secondary symptom after they’ve had these respiratory symptoms, but he had never seen it as an initial symptom.”
Doctors performed surgery and were able to save the patient’s arm but not all of his fingers.
Doctors at UM published this case to educate people and other doctors about what medical experts call sequelae, or unexpected results or complications of the disease.
“COVID-19 is something that we are learning still. Many people ask me, many of my patients, what are the sequelae in the long term, and we just don’t know,” he said.
After surgery, the patient still had to deal with the coronavirus. He spent weeks on a ventilator before he was released.
The surgeons involved in this case have sent their report to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Anyone with questions and concerns about the coronavirus can call the Florida Department of Health’s 24-hour hotline at 1-866-779-6121.
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