Fyi
I had swollen feet (they were big!!!) after I gave birth to my son and was at home so i called the doctor and the doctor on call insisted I go to the ER.
The reason is that after pregnancy you can have a deep vein thrombosis (DVT or blood clot) in a leg and that can cause swelling. So I went to the ER to get checked out.
They did an ultrasound to check for a clot and I was clear.
DVT can happen when people travel on airplanes and don't get up and move around and it can happen after spinal surgery, too.
And it happens to people on bedrest or ones that are not moving around much like people in pain who are lying down a lot.
The problem with DVT is that it can lead to a pulmonary embolus and this is a
serious problem that can kill. This is because the clot in the vein will travel to the lungs.
So anytime you have swollen feet it should be checked out if you have just had spine surgery or you have been immobile.
Usually if you have a DVT, you will have swelling in one leg or calf and the area will also be painful.
CindyLou on here had a pulmonary embolism so she can tell you about what happened.
So IMHO, I think any unusual swelling of the feet should be checked out by a doctor. I understand, we do have swelling of the feet sometimes with travel or if it is unusually warm, that is different.
Swelling of the feet can also be due to a cardiac problem.
Being a spine patient, I would just have any unusual symptom checked out by your doctor.
That is my two cents on this topic.
I don't want to scare anybody but this is a possibility, especially after spinal surgery.
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