Today, every day new diseases appear, but no less actively progressing and long known to mankind. One of these is varicose veins. Such a disease can affect not only the veins in the legs, but also anywhere in the body. For example, a person may have dilated veins in the pelvis, esophagus, or uterus. The causes of varicose veins are the “sea”. This includes the excessive regular load on the legs, improper lifestyle, hormonal problems, and so on. Sometimes the situation is so serious that the patient needs an operation on a vein on his leg.
Leg veins
Even in well-developed countries of the world, doctors are not able to prevent a massive lesion of varicose veins. At first, the disease is not taken seriously. He is considered simply a problem that worsens the appearance of the legs. However, as the disease progresses, other more serious symptoms appear. Swelling of the lower extremities occurs, severe pain, the skin in the area of the dilated vessels darkens, trophic ulcers may even appear, then the operation - removal of veins on the legs - is extremely necessary.
Although the underlying cause of varicose veins is a genetic predisposition, more serious stages of the disease occur when the legs are overloaded. For the disease to begin to progress, the body most often needs stress. It can be pregnancy, childbirth or just a sharp increase in physical activity. As a result, pressure jumps in the bloodstream of a person’s legs and the normal operation of the valves is disrupted. This is an impetus for the progression of varicose veins.
Secondary stage
Most often occurs on the basis of vein thrombosis that has already been transmitted, as well as due to inherited diseases. Secondary expansion, or post-thrombophlebitic disease, is a serious problem, and if you do not attach importance to it, then a deep pathological process begins in the circulatory system of the lower extremities.
This leads to the expansion of saphenous veins and blockage of large vessels, as the valves do not have time to cope with increasing pressure. Also, re-expansion of the veins can occur due to arteriovenous fistula. In rare severe forms, Klippel – Trenone syndrome develops, which also leads to the secondary stage of the disease.
Surgical operations on the veins of the lower extremities
When a person comes to despair in the fight against varicose veins, you have to resort to a surgical solution to the problem, namely the removal of the enlarged section of the venous vessels. If the operation is performed by experienced and conscientious surgeons, this can save a person from the disease and from the discomfort associated with it for many years.
In modern medicine, there are all the necessary developments and tools for the operation on a vein on the leg to be successful. An interesting new method of seamless technology. Affected areas of the circulatory system are removed using micro-punctures.
After such an operation, suturing is not even required. The patient’s leg is simply wrapped with an elastic bandage, and after only five hours, he can already get up and walk a little. No matter how difficult the operation on the veins of the legs, the consequences can still be felt for some time. For example, the compression period after any surgical procedure can be from one to three months.
If trophic ulcers have formed on a person’s legs, then surgeons use endoscopic equipment. Gradually, the most painful and terrible methods of removing dilated blood vessels are replaced by more civilized ones.
Methods of operation
The most common technique for treating leg veins is phlebectomy.
Drugs, including anesthesia, are administered through the epidural opening in the spine (using a catheter). This method contributes to high-quality pain relief, while maintaining consciousness, reducing harm and stress to the body.
Although at the moment many methods of the operation have been invented, the method of combined phlebectomy is more effectively used . It consists of several stages.
The first stage is called crossectomy. It consists in the intersection of a large saphenous vein at the place of its confluence with the femoral. It is convenient to carry out such work from a section in the inguinal part, this also allows you to seamlessly bandage tributaries that are close to the anastomosis.
The next part of the operation is the removal of a large saphenous vein fragment. In some cases, the required operation for varicose veins concerns a small area of blood vessels only in the femoral zone. And sometimes they use long stripping (the so-called removal of the vein), that is, the subcutaneous wreath is completely removed - from the groin to the ankle.
In this case, the vessels are drawn using a special probe. To understand how this removal occurs, imagine how the stocking is turned inside out when removed from the leg. This is how a vein is removed when completely removed. This method allows you to maintain the integrity of the remaining elements of the circulatory system, not to damage the surrounding tissue, to avoid the appearance of scars and bruises. If this is how the operation on the veins of the legs was performed, rehabilitation will be faster and easier.
After the main trunk has been removed, proceed to eliminate the tributaries damaged by varicose veins. Moreover, if the blood vessels that connect the deep veins to the superficial veins are also susceptible to pathology, they must be bandaged. Dressings are made from individual small incisions.
Preparation for surgery
In order for a leg vein operation to be successful, you need to properly prepare for it. The attending physician gives the necessary directions, among which there will certainly be analyzes of blood, urine, cardiogram, fluorography. Women will need to go to the gynecologist, and some patients still need to take permission to admit the operation from the therapist. You should also purchase several elastic bandages at the pharmacy in advance and take them with you when you go to the hospital.
Phlebectomy is indicated for patients who are diagnosed with varicose leg disease associated with problems in the saphenous veins (large or small).
To whom phlebectomy is contraindicated
In no case should you resort to this method for pregnant and breast-feeding women. It is also worth considering the general condition of the patient and other pathologies to which he may be exposed. Do not do a phlebectomy for those who have exacerbated thrombosis or venous thrombophlebitis, as well as in the presence of purulent formations on the legs.
Foamy sclerotherapy of veins
Sclerotherapy is a relatively new and successful method of treating varicose veins without traumatic intervention. Such operations are performed on the veins of the legs with a laser. Such sclerotherapy is especially effective in removing small dilated veins. And in the treatment of vascular networks, asterisks and reticular veins, this technique is simply irreplaceable.
Laser leg vein surgery
With such an intervention, only the energy of the laser beam acts on the problem area, as a result of which the vein is thermally closed. The procedure has a relatively high cost, and it requires specially trained medical personnel.
Thanks to this method, it became possible to deal with the causes of trophic ulcers. Such an operation - removal of veins on the legs - has become the most modern and effective, so patients quickly recover, without feeling the negative consequences.
What is radio frequency obliteration?
This is no less safe and modern operation on the veins of the legs. Reviews about this technique are pretty good. It is both painless and easy to understand for the patient. However, after a surgical procedure, the legs may hurt for a while, and this method cannot be used to treat perforating veins.
The dangers of varicose veins
Alas, this problem is extremely common in society. On average, more than 30% of the population have bloated veins. In 20%, varicose veins are complicated by the appearance of trophic ulcers, and more than 25% of cases of the disease go into the stage of thrombophlebitis. This behavior of the disease can often lead to even more serious consequences.
Risks of Thrombophlebitis
This complication occurs more often than others and carries with it a serious problem, as it can cause blockage of deep veins. It is caused by a slowdown in the quality of blood circulation in the vessels of the lower extremities. It leads to edema, trophic ulcers, darkening of the skin in the affected area.
What is a trophic ulcer?
Such an ulcer is a sign of severe venous insufficiency. In the absence of proper treatment, it may not heal for a long time, even progress, damaging your legs more and more. After vein surgery, this problem is resolved more easily.
Venous thrombosis and thromboembolism
Such thrombosis can increase the risk of thrombophlebitis, and thromboembolism in general can lead to serious pulmonary and heart failure, which in half the cases is fatal.
Postoperative Recovery
Regardless of how the operation for varicose veins went, in order to recover, you must adhere to the course prescribed by the doctor. When recommending treatment, the doctor will take into account how badly the veins were damaged, how much blood flow was impaired.
After the operation on the vein on the leg has been carried out, the first 4 hours should be in bed. However, this does not mean that you need to lie still. The doctor will tell you how to bend your legs and what movements to make with the ankle joints to speed recovery. Sometimes you will need to bandage the lower limbs with an elastic bandage or even fix them in a raised state.
The next day, doctors will allow the patient to sit down. After both legs are bandaged with an elastic bandage, the patient will try to stand up and walk around the room.
Finally, everything is behind, an operation was performed on the veins of the legs. Reviews about it, of course, can be both positive and negative. Nevertheless, we must not forget that it is necessary to maintain the health of blood vessels in the future. In this case, a special massage will come to the rescue, as well as regular walks. All this will help to avoid varicose veins today and in the future!