How best to treat deep vein thrombosis of the lower leg?

Blood thinners: It depends, to some extent, on where the clot is. It is possible to have a deep vein thrombosis that is so far down the leg, is so small, and is in such a small vein that we might treat it with anti-inflammatory medicines and compression stockings. If the clot is in a larger vein and is bigger, then we treat those with blood thinners for a minimum of 3 months and use compression stockings too.

Anticoagulation : Tibial vein DVT has been a controversial subject. Current recommendations call for systemic anticoagulation for 3 months (often started with Lovenox (enoxaparin) and bridged onto coumadin). At three months a repeat ultrasound is done to determine if another 3 months would be appropriate due to persistent clot. Don't forget the compression stockings to avoid post phlebitis syndrome.

Dvt: Dvt is treated with abnticoagulation therapy as a prevention of pulmonary embolism

Broad topic: Anticoagulation still the baseline therapy for an acute DVT. In recent years, we have been more aggressive in selected cases to intervene with pharmacomechanical treatments (e.g. ANGIOJET and t-PA) to achieve more rapid clearance and preserve valve function. This is with the intent to reduce the incidence of post-phlebtic syndrome. Duration of anticoagulation depends on many factors.