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Milk leg is a layman's term for a type of deep venous thrombophlebitis, or DVT. A DVT is a blood clot that forms in an inflamed deep vein, but can occur in any deep vein. Milk leg refers to a DVT of the large deep vein in the upper thigh, so that the entire leg is affected. The term evolved because this condition is more common in pregnant woman or woman that have recently delivered. We actually see DVT in many other people, including DVT of the large vein in the upper thigh, so the term is not accurate.
Whenever a DVT forms, it will limit blood flow through the vein back to the heart, so there can be pain, swelling, or redness of the leg.
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