One of the parts of the circulatory system located in the lower extremities of a person is perforating veins. It is interesting that the blood through the veins in the legs moves from bottom to top. If a person exhibits changes of a pathological nature, then this becomes a cause of disturbances in the blood circulation, and this leads to serious complications. So what are perforating veins and what role do they play?
Connective vessels: physiology
Most perforating veins have special valves that are located directly above the fascia - the collagen connecting shells. Thanks to these valves, blood flows into deeper channels and systems of the surface type.
There are two types of perforating vessels:
- Direct. These veins connect deep and superficial canals. Vessels of this type are large, but not many. A good example of a direct perforating vein of the lower leg is the Coquette vein. It is located in the tendon area.
- Indirect. Vessels of this type also interconnect both deep channels and superficial. The difference is that they use the blood channels of the muscles for this. Indirect veins are small in size and present in the legs in large numbers.
If various pathological changes begin to develop in the lower extremities, then this leads to the failure of perforating veins. Circulatory disturbance occurs, which causes serious consequences for human health.
Manifestations of a pathological nature
What is vascular failure? In this case, the perforating vein valves malfunction. Because of this, most of the blood begins to drain into the saphenous veins from the deep canals. Such a pathology leads to the appearance of severe puffiness in the feet, the pressure characteristic of the circulatory system begins to gradually increase. Due to insufficiency of valves of perforating veins, diseases such as thrombosis, varicose veins, thrombophlebitis and others can begin to develop.
Varicose veins development
The causes of varicose veins can be various factors. The main reason for the development of this disease is considered to be perforating insufficiency of the veins of the leg and other parts of the lower extremities, which causes a reverse blood flow. An imbalance in the activity of muscles, elastic and collagen structures can also provoke the rapid development of varicose veins.
Gradually, blood begins to stagnate in the perforating veins, which leads to a noticeable increase in their size. Then blood begins to be ejected into the subcutaneous network. In the presence of varicose veins, the patient may be disturbed by edema, convulsions, a feeling of severe heaviness in the legs, and the veins become pronounced.
Thrombophlebitis: a dangerous disease
If you do not start treating varicose veins, then a more serious disease, thrombophlebitis, can develop. Pathology can cause death. Life-threatening complications occur when a blood clot enters a deep vein located on the thigh. If you do not consult a doctor on time, then the patient may experience pulmonary thromboembolism.
Thrombosis
It is unrealistic to notice the development of pathology in the appearance of the lower extremities. This is the danger of the disease. A person rarely pays attention to symptoms, because they are not clearly expressed. The main symptoms are a rare sensation of pain in the legs, as well as stiffness and heaviness. If you do not pay attention to these signs, then soon thrombosis can develop either into an acute form or into thromboembolism.
Diagnosis of vein problems
If you notice the first signs of disturbances in the functioning of the veins of the lower extremities - you do not need to postpone the visit to the doctor. The specialist will conduct a thorough examination, examine the tests and make functional tests.
Of course, these diagnostic measures will not be enough to make the correct diagnosis. Therefore, you need to undergo a more thorough examination. It includes the following types of diagnostics:
- Laboratory tests: analysis of urine and blood. With the help of tests, you can assess the state of health of the patient.
- Coagulogram. Using this method, the degree of blood coagulation is checked.
- Dopplerography of the legs is performed. The procedure helps to record all the boundaries of the blood flow, but, unfortunately, the diagnostic method does not allow to examine the entire vein completely.
- Ultrasound using duplex scanning. The technique allows you to find out what condition the veins of the legs are in, as well as to determine the presence of features of the venous system, the presence of thromboembolism, thrombosis.
- X-ray contrast study. It is prescribed only if the patient has complications of pathologies of perforating veins.
After the diagnosis is completed, the doctor will be able to carefully study the results, make a diagnosis and choose the most effective treatment. Treatment regimens may vary significantly in each individual case.
How are vascular diseases treated?
If a thorough examination of the patient showed the presence of pathologies associated with perforating veins, then therapy should be started as soon as possible. To date, there are only two options for treating leg vessels: surgical or conservative. The specialist selects the appropriate treatment option depending on the patient’s state of health and the characteristics of the development of the disease.
Conservative treatment
If the pathology of perforating veins of the lower extremities has just begun to develop, then a conservative treatment will be quite enough. Therapy of this type basically contains the following nuances:
- The patient should wear compression underwear or perform a ligation of perforating veins.
- Medical gymnastics is performed.
- Laser coagulation, sclerotherapy is done.
- Hydrotherapy.
- Venotonics are used.
- You need to take medications to eliminate swelling and inflammation.
- Compliance with a special diet.
A conservative treatment method helps to strengthen the walls of the affected vessels, make the veins more resilient, elastic, and put in order the blood circulation.
Surgical treatment
Such therapy is considered radical and is used only if the pathology is in an advanced state. In order to eliminate the dysfunction of perforating veins, excision of the affected vessel or its ligation is performed during surgical intervention.
Several options for surgical intervention are used, namely:
- Crossectomy During the operation, the trunk of the subcutaneous vessel is excised directly in the place where the connection to the deep vein takes place.
- Stripping. Doctors remove a certain part of the vein that has undergone pathological changes.
- Miniflebectomy. This technique differs from the rest in that no incisions are made on the patient’s skin. Affected veins are removed only through punctures. Such an operation is safer, and the recovery period takes a little time.
Preventative measures
It is better to avoid the disease than to treat it later. So that over time, the insufficiency of perforating veins of the lower extremities does not begin to appear, it is worth observing simple preventive measures.
- Exercise regularly for your legs.
- If necessary, always wear compression underwear. If you will be on your feet for a long time, it is better to wear such underwear. It will reduce the load on the lower limbs and will control the state of blood flow.
- Try to keep your feet cool and warm.
- Every day, be sure to walk outdoors.
- Do not wear those clothes that tightly pinch your legs.
- During sleep, you need to put your legs on a slight elevation in order to tidy the outflow of blood.
- Take a contrast shower daily, which perfectly strengthens the walls of blood vessels.
- Minimize or completely eliminate too salty, fatty and fried foods. Your diet should be healthy and complete.
- Go in for sports.
If you follow these simple rules for prevention, then the perforating veins of your legs will be healthy throughout life. But, if you notice at least some signs of disease, then you should immediately consult a specialist. Ignoring the symptoms of vascular disease of the lower extremities can lead to serious consequences, up to disability. Therefore, it is so important to turn to the hospital for help in time, describing all the complaints.