Advanced varicose veins cannot always be successfully treated with conservative treatment methods. Therefore, varicose veins are removed by surgery. Varicose vein surgery of the lower extremities has its own characteristics, rehabilitation methods and contraindications.
In what situations is vein surgery performed?
The following situations require surgery, which is only performed in a hospital by experienced specialists. Surgical intervention on the lower extremities is mandatory in the following cases:
- If the disease has become extensive and advanced;
- If the veins of the skin are very dilated;
- If the movement of blood through the blood vessels is disturbed, due to which the legs constantly ache, they tire quickly and are overloaded with weight;
- If the skin is trophically affected;
- If there are non-healing trophic ulcers on the legs;
- If thrombophlebitis worsens.
How to prepare for surgery
Varicose vein surgery is called phlebectomy. It is important to prepare well in advance. The treatment of varicose veins with surgical intervention begins with passing all the necessary tests and undergoing the necessary studies of the body. On the day of surgery, you need:
- Take a shower in the morning;
- Shave your legs so that excess hair does not interfere with the work of the doctor with varicose veins;
- Arrive at the hospital a little earlier than your appointment to prepare for the upcoming procedure.
In cases where venous veins are removed under general anesthesia, the patient is given a cleansing enema in the evening.
If your doctor has prescribed an operation to treat varicose veins on your legs, it is important to inform him of the presence of allergic reactions to drugs in order to avoid serious consequences. The operation is performed using anesthetics and means containing iodine. Therefore, if you are allergic to such drugs, you must inform your doctor about it.
If, after surgery in the area of the lower extremities, the patient needs to stay in the hospital for rehabilitation, the doctor must also inform the doctor about the medications he is systematically taking.
Varicose vein surgery types
Varicose veins of the lower extremities are treated in different ways. There are the following types of surgical interventions:
- During phlebectomy, only those veins affected by varicose veins are removed. Diseased veins are removed through small incisions in the legs;
- In order to remove the great saphenous vein along with its tributaries, stripping is performed. This operation for varicose veins is performed through an incision in the inguinal fold. The veins that have undergone surgery are ligated and a tight bandage is placed on the leg;
- During sclerosis, the diseased vessels are filled with a special substance that binds them together. Instead of diseased veins, scar tissue appears, which is subsequently dissolved without a trace with the help of special preparations;
- The treatment of varicose veins in the lower extremities is carried out with a laser beam that penetrates the venous veins through special punctures. With laser therapy, the veins are joined, dissolved and after some time disappear. Reviews of patients show that such surgical intervention is quite effective, which is why there are no recurrences of the disease.
Varicose vein surgery is not scary today. Each intervention is performed through a small incision in the skin. 24 hours after surgical procedures, the patient can be discharged home, and after a few days he can return to work.
It is important that the patient is aware of the possible consequences before leg surgery. Rehabilitation takes place in different ways. Treatment after surgery depends on how it was performed, in which area and under which anesthesia. Often after phlebectomy, the legs hurt a lot, and even hematomas appear, which disappear after a while. During the laser therapy, a slight pain is felt in the lower extremities.
Rehabilitation after surgery
After surgery on the lower extremities, relapses occur very rarely. Further health of the patient depends only on him. To avoid hematomas, bleeding and other complications, you must strictly follow all the doctor's recommendations.
When varicose vein surgery is delayed, it is important to take the following rehabilitation measures:
- Get complete rest;
- Take a walk outside;
- Do physical exercises, taking into account the permissible loads that are determined for each patient individually;
- Follow the diet;
- Tightly bandage the operated areas on the legs with elastic bandages;
- Wear specially knitted compression underwear;
- Do not lift very heavy objects;
- Watch your weight.
After surgery on the lower extremities, it is strictly forbidden to drink alcohol, do heavy physical work, take a hot bath and drive a car for two days.
Pain in the lower extremities and elevated body temperature may occur within four days. In order to cope with such unpleasant symptoms, foot massage is recommended. In order to quickly restore blood flow and increase the tone of venous vessels, it is recommended to move a lot.
In order to prevent blood clots, postoperative treatment of varicose veins is carried out with antiplatelet agents. A doctor may prescribe a course of acetylsalicylic acid. To thin the blood, the patient is given injections of glycosaminoglycans.
Treatment or prevention of the inflammatory process is carried out with the help of antibiotics. Painkillers are prescribed to reduce pain in the lower extremities.
You have to be very careful when you perform the hygiene of the operated leg. Do not wet the bandage before removing the stitches! The sutures are removed seven days after the operation, as soon as the wounds are completely healed.
Once you remove them, you need to shower carefully. You cannot forcefully tear off the scabs near the scars, they should fall off by themselves. When bathing, gently wash your feet with a soft sponge and baby soap. Then they are wiped with a soft towel, and the lines of the scars are smeared with alcohol or brilliant green paint. You should not steam the scars in a sauna or hot bath for a month.
How to eat during rehabilitation
To strengthen blood vessels, it is recommended to drink a little dry red wine, beet or tomato juice, grape juice, eat cranberries, garlic and lemon.
For varicose veins, it is recommended:
- Drink apple cider vinegar twice a day. Two tablespoons should be diluted with half a glass of water;
- Cabbage, peppers, tomatoes, carrots and herbs are considered useful vegetables. You can prepare salads from them, seasoning them with vegetable oil or lemon juice;
- As for fruits, it is useful to eat gooseberries, black currants, oranges, strawberries, apples, lemons;
- To saturate the body with useful substances, prepare cereal porridge;
- To enrich your veins with vitamin E, add vegetable oil - olive, pumpkin or sunflower oil - to meals;
- In order to saturate the venous system with elastin, it is important to include seafood in the diet. It is recommended to eat seaweed every day. If income allows, make salads from mussels, crabs, shrimp, oysters and squid;
- To maintain the health of blood vessels, it is recommended to consume several walnut kernels a day.
Only a proper and balanced diet will help you recover faster after vein removal surgery.
Possible complications and consequences after surgery
In general, surgery for varicose veins on the extremities goes well. If the surgical treatment is successful, the patient is discharged home after two days. But sometimes there are unexpected complications that you need to know about in advance.
Possible complications after surgery on the extremities:
- Formation of bruises that disappear on their own within a month. They rarely stay on the skin for more than two months;
- Sometimes in the places where the puncture or incision was made, the skin begins to thicken. Within a month, the seal is withdrawn by itself;
- If the cut on the skin touches the nerve endings, the patient may feel pain in this area. It also takes some time for wounds to heal completely;
- If the legs are exposed to heavy loads after surgery, swelling may occur. Therefore, it is recommended to avoid heavy work for the first few days after vein surgery.
In order to avoid the described consequences after surgery, it is necessary to carry out their prevention.
Preventive measures
Some wounds heal very quickly, while others suffer from the appearance of keloids. For this reason, varicose veins should not only be removed, but all preventive measures must be taken to avoid unwanted consequences.
After surgery, experts recommend moving and not sitting in one place or lying in bed.
Prevention after surgery is as follows:
- First slowly bend and straighten your knees. Make circular movements with your feet to increase the speed of venous blood;
- When you sleep, make sure that your legs are slightly higher than your torso;
- After a few days, start actively sitting up in bed;
- Place an elastic bandage on the operated leg and start walking and doing light physical therapy exercises. It is recommended to wear an elastic bandage for three months after surgery.
In order for the disease not to return, it is important to lead an active lifestyle, perform physical therapy, go to the pool, and eat healthy and balanced food.
To avoid the development of varicose veins and the removal of varicose veins, it is necessary to exercise, run, walk a lot, swim and attend yoga classes.
If you stand a lot during the day, you need to take short breaks every two hours - walk on your heels and then on your toes. In order to avoid varicose veins during pregnancy, it is recommended to wear special compression stockings or tights.
Contraindications for varicose vein surgery
It is not always possible to remove veins with varicose vein surgery. Treatment of the disease by surgical intervention cannot be carried out in persons suffering from hypertension (late stage of the disease), coronary artery disease, severe forms of infectious diseases, erysipelas and eczema.
The operation is contraindicated in pregnancy (especially from 5 to 9 months) and in the elderly.
It is important that the operation to remove varicose veins is performed by an experienced phlebologist. Therefore, in order not to risk your health, you must carefully read the reviews of different doctors. Only after a detailed analysis of the collected information about doctors can you go to the chosen specialist and entrust him with your problem.
What to do if surgery is contraindicated for you
If for some reason you cannot undergo surgery, the treatment of varicose veins is carried out by conservative methods. The initial stages of the disease can be treated as follows:
- Thanks to compression garments, bulging blood vessels can be kept in tone. To choose the right compression, you should consult a doctor;
- Yogurt and wormwood decoction can be used to make lotions for painful areas of the legs. A poultice made of hop infusion, alcoholic tincture of kalanchoe leaves, cabbage with honey or raw potatoes will also be useful;
- The early stage of varicose veins is treated with hirudotherapy. For treatment, leech saliva is used, which thins the blood and helps it circulate better through the veins. But after this type of therapy sometimes small scars remain on the skin;
- For the treatment of diseases, lotions, masks or baths are also made from blue clay;
- After consulting a doctor, varicose veins on the legs can be treated with special pharmaceutical ointments, creams, plasters, gels or tablets.
The described conservative methods can be used only in the initial stages of the disease. If varicose veins have acquired a serious form of manifestation, then surgery cannot be avoided. Therefore, it is important to consult a doctor in time to protect the health of your feet.
How do patients react to varicose vein surgery?
If you carefully study all reviews about surgical intervention for varicose veins, you can draw the following conclusion. If you have indications for surgery, there is no reason to fear. Feel free to do and strictly follow all further instructions of the doctor. And very quickly you will forget about varicose veins and all its unpleasant symptoms.
Now you know what types of surgical interventions exist for varicose veins on the legs. How to prepare for surgery and what to do after it to avoid unwanted complications and recurrences.