Advanced varicose veins cannot always be successfully cured using conservative treatment methods. Therefore, varicose veins are surgically removed. Surgery for lower varicose veins has its own characteristics, recovery methods and contraindications.
In what situation is vein surgery performed?
The following situations require surgery, which is only performed in a hospital by an experienced specialist. Surgical intervention in the lower leg is mandatory in the following cases:
- If the disease has become widespread and advanced;
- If the saphenous vein has become very large;
- If the movement of blood through the channels is disturbed, that is why the legs always hurt, get tired quickly and become too heavy;
- If the skin is tropically affected;
- If there is a non-healing trophic ulcer on the leg;
- If thrombophlebitis worsens.
How to prepare for surgery
Surgery for varicose veins is called phlebectomy. It is important to prepare well in advance. Varicose vein treatment with surgical intervention begins with passing all the necessary tests and undergoing the necessary studies of the body. On the day of the operation it is necessary to:
- Morning shower;
- Shave your legs so that excess hair does not interfere with the doctor's work with varicose veins;
- Arrive at the hospital a little earlier than your appointment to prepare for the upcoming procedure.
In cases where the vein is removed using general anesthesia, the patient is given a cleansing enema in the evening.
If your doctor has prescribed you to treat varicose veins on your legs with surgery, it is important to inform him about the presence of allergic reactions to medications to avoid serious consequences. Surgery is performed using anesthetics and iodine-containing agents. Therefore, if you are allergic to these drugs, you must tell your doctor about it.
If, after surgery in the area of the lower leg, the patient needs to stay in the hospital for rehabilitation, the doctor must also inform the doctor about the medications he is taking systematically.
Types of operation for varicose veins
Varicose veins on the lower legs are treated in different ways. The following types of surgical intervention exist:
- During phlebectomy, only the veins affected by the varicose veins are removed. The diseased vein is removed through a small incision in the leg;
- 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 operated vein is tied and a tight bandage is applied to the leg;
- During sclerosis, the diseased vessels are filled with a special substance that glues them together. From diseased veins, scar tissue appears, which, with the help of special preparations, then dissolves without a trace;
- Treatment of varicose veins in the lower leg is carried out using a laser beam that penetrates the vein through a special puncture. With laser therapy, the veins are welded together, dissolve and disappear after a while. Reviews from patients indicate that such surgical intervention is quite effective, because the disease does not recur.
Leg surgery for varicose veins is not scary today. Any intervention is done through a small incision in the skin. 24 hours after the surgical procedure, patients can leave home, and after a few days they are allowed to return to work.
It is important that before undergoing foot surgery, the patient is aware of the possible consequences. Recovery happens in different ways. Treatment after surgery depends on how it was performed, in what area, and under the type of anesthesia. Often after phlebectomy, the leg hurts very badly and even a hematoma appears, which disappears after a while. During laser therapy, mild pain is felt in the lower part of the leg.
Recovery after surgery
After surgery on the lower leg, recurrence is very rare. The patient's well-being depends only on it. To avoid hematoma, bleeding and other complications, you must strictly follow all the doctor's recommendations.
When surgery for varicose veins is left behind, it is important to perform the following recovery measures:
- Rest completely;
- To walk outside;
- Perform physical exercises, taking into account the permissible load, which is determined for each patient individually;
- Follow a diet;
- Tightly wrap the operated area on the leg with an elastic bandage;
- Wear special knitted compression underwear;
- Do not lift very heavy objects;
- Watch your weight.
After surgery on the lower leg, it is strictly forbidden to drink alcohol, do heavy physical work, take a hot bath, or drive a car for two days.
Within four days, pain in the lower part of the leg and an increase in body temperature may occur. To overcome the unpleasant symptoms, it is recommended to massage your feet. To quickly restore blood flow and increase the tone of venous vessels, it is advisable to move a lot.
To prevent blood clots, postoperative treatment of varicose veins is carried out with antiplatelet agents. The doctor may prescribe a course of acetylsalicylic acid. To thin the blood, patients are given glycosaminoglycan injections.
Treatment or prevention of the inflammatory process is carried out with the help of antibiotics. To reduce the pain in the lower part of the leg, painkillers are prescribed.
You need to be careful when cleaning your operated leg. Do not wet the bandage before removing the stitches! The sutures are removed seven days after surgery, once the wound has completely healed.
Once it is removed, you need to shower carefully. You can't forcefully tear open the scab near the scar; it will go away by itself. While bathing, wash your feet gently with a soft sponge and baby soap. Then they are wiped with a soft towel, and the scar line is wiped with alcohol or brilliant green. You can not steam the scar in a sauna or hot bath for a month.
How to eat during recovery
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 recommended:
- Drink apple cider vinegar twice a day. Two tablespoons should be diluted with half a glass of water;
- Among vegetables, cabbage, bell peppers, tomatoes, carrots, and herbs are considered useful. You can prepare a salad from them, season it with vegetable oil or lemon juice;
- As for fruits, it is useful to eat gooseberries, black currants, oranges, strawberries, apples, lemons;
- To fill the body with useful substances, prepare cereal porridge;
- To enrich your veins with vitamin E, add vegetable oil to your meals - olive, pumpkin or sunflower;
- To fill the venous system with elastin, it is important that seafood is present in the diet. It is recommended to eat seaweed every day. If income allows, make a salad of clams, crabs, shrimps, oysters and squid;
- To maintain vascular health, it is recommended to consume a few walnuts daily.
Only proper and balanced nutrition will help you recover faster after vein removal surgery.
Possible complications and consequences after surgery
In general, surgery for varicose veins in the legs goes well. If the surgical treatment is successful, the patient is allowed to go home after two days. But sometimes unexpected complications occur that you need to be aware of in advance.
Complications that may occur after surgery on the leg:
- Formation of bruises that disappear on their own within a month. Very rarely they remain on the skin for more than two months;
- Sometimes in the place where the puncture or incision is made, the skin begins to thicken. Within a month, the seal resolved itself;
- If the skin incision touches the nerve endings, the patient may feel pain in this area. It also takes some time for the wound to heal completely;
- If the foot is subjected to heavy loads after surgery, swelling may occur. Therefore, for the first few days after vein surgery, it is recommended to avoid heavy work.
To avoid the consequences described after surgery, it is necessary to carry out their prevention.
Preventive measures
Some people's wounds heal quickly, while others develop keloids. For this reason, varicose veins not only need to be removed, but all preventive measures must be taken to avoid unwanted consequences.
After the operation, 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 legs to increase the speed of venous blood flow;
- When you sleep, keep your legs slightly higher than your body;
- After a few days, start actively sitting in bed;
- Place an elastic bandage on your operated leg and start walking and doing light physical therapy exercises. It is recommended to wear an elastic bandage for three months after surgery.
To prevent the disease from returning, it is important to live an active lifestyle, do physical therapy, go to the swimming pool, and eat a healthy and balanced diet.
To prevent the development of varicose veins and the removal of varicose veins, you need to exercise, run, walk a lot, swim and attend yoga classes.
If you stand a lot all day, you need to take a short break every two hours - walk on your heels and then on your toes. To prevent varicose veins during pregnancy, it is recommended to wear compression stockings or special tights.
Contraindications to surgery for varicose veins
It is not always possible to remove veins using surgery for varicose veins. Treatment of diseases with surgical intervention should not be carried out for people suffering from hypertension (end stage of the disease), coronary artery disease, severe forms of infectious diseases, erysipelas, and eczema.
This operation is also contraindicated during pregnancy (especially from 5 to 9 months) and in old age.
It is important that the operation to remove varicose veins is performed by an experienced phlebologist. Therefore, in order not to harm your health, you need to carefully read the reviews of different doctors. Only after a thorough analysis of the information collected about the doctor can you go to the chosen specialist and trust him with your problem.
What to do if surgery is contraindicated for you
If for some reason you cannot undergo surgery, varicose vein treatment is carried out using conservative methods. The early stages of this disease can be treated as follows:
- Thanks to compression garments, bulging blood vessels can be kept in tone. To choose the right compression, you need to consult a doctor;
- You can make a lotion for sore feet from yogurt and wormwood decoction. Compresses made from hop infusion, alcoholic tincture of Kalanchoe leaves, cabbage with honey or raw potatoes will also be useful;
- Early stages of varicose veins are treated with hirudotherapy. For treatment, leech saliva is used, which dilutes the blood and helps it circulate better through the veins. But after this type of therapy, sometimes small scars remain on the skin;
- To treat diseases, lotions, masks or baths are also made from blue clay;
- After consulting a doctor, varicose veins of the legs can be treated with special pharmaceutical ointments, creams, patches, gels or tablets.
The described conservative methods can only be used in the early stages of the disease. If varicose veins have acquired a severe 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 respond to surgery for varicose veins of the legs?
If you carefully study all the reviews on surgical intervention for varicose veins, you can draw the following conclusions. If you have indications for surgery, do not be afraid. Do not hesitate to do and follow all further instructions from the doctor strictly. And soon you will forget about varicose veins and all the unpleasant symptoms.
Now you know what types of surgical interventions exist for varicose veins in the legs. How to prepare for surgery and what to do afterwards to avoid unwanted complications and recurrence.