Advanced varicose veins cannot always be successfully cured using conservative treatment methods. Therefore, varicose veins are removed through surgery. Surgery for varicose veins 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 performed only in a hospital by experienced specialists. Surgical intervention in the lower extremities is mandatory in the following cases:
- If the disease has become extensive and advanced;
- If the saphenous veins have become very enlarged;
- If the movement of blood through the vessels is disrupted, which is why the legs constantly hurt, quickly get tired and become overloaded with heaviness;
- If the skin is trophically affected;
- If there are non-healing trophic ulcers on the legs;
- If thrombophlebitis worsens.
How to prepare for surgery
Surgery for varicose veins is called phlebectomy. It is important to prepare well for it in advance. 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 the operation it is necessary to:
- Take a 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 venous veins are 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 in order to avoid serious consequences. Surgery is performed using an anesthetic and agents containing iodine. Therefore, if you are allergic to such drugs, you must tell 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 taking systematically.
Types of operations for varicose veins
Varicose veins of the lower extremities are treated in different ways. The following types of surgical intervention exist:
- During phlebectomy, only those veins that are affected by varicose veins are removed. Diseased veins are removed through small incisions in the legs;
- To remove the large 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 applied to the leg;
- During sclerosis, diseased vessels are filled with a special substance that glues them together. Instead of diseased veins, scar tissue appears, which, with the help of special preparations, subsequently dissolves without a trace;
- Treatment of varicose veins in the lower extremities is carried out using a laser beam that penetrates the venous veins through special punctures. 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, due to which relapses of the disease do not occur.
Leg surgery for varicose veins is not scary today. Any intervention is carried out through a small incision on the skin. 24 hours after the surgical procedures, the patient can be discharged home, and after a few days they are allowed to go back to work.
It is important that before undergoing leg surgery, the patient is aware of the possible consequences. Rehabilitation takes place in different ways. Treatment after surgery depends on how it was performed, in what area, and under what type of anesthesia. Often after phlebectomy, the legs hurt very badly and even hematomas appear, which disappear after a while. During laser therapy, mild pain is felt in the lower extremities.
Rehabilitation after surgery
After surgery in the lower extremities, relapses very rarely occur. The patient’s further well-being depends only on him. To avoid hematomas, 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 do the following rehabilitation measures:
- Take full rest;
- To walk outside;
- Do physical exercise, taking into account the permissible loads, which are determined for each patient individually;
- Follow the diet;
- Tightly bandage the operated areas on the legs with elastic bandages;
- Wear special knitted compression underwear;
- Do not lift very heavy objects;
- Watch your weight.
After surgery in the lower extremities, it is strictly forbidden to drink alcohol, do heavy physical work, take a hot bath, or drive a car for two days.
Over the course of four days, pain in the lower extremities and increased body temperature may occur. To cope with such unpleasant symptoms, it is recommended to massage your feet. To quickly restore blood flow and increase the tone of the 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, the patient is given injections with glycosaminoglycan.
Treatment or prevention of the inflammatory process is carried out with the help of antibiotics. To reduce pain in the lower extremities, painkillers are prescribed.
You need to be very careful when performing hygiene on your operated leg. Do not get the bandage wet before removing the stitches! The sutures are removed seven days after the operation, as soon as the wounds have completely healed.
Once they are removed, you need to take a shower carefully. You cannot forcibly tear off the scabs near the scars; they should fall off on their own. When bathing, wash your foot gently with a soft sponge and baby soap. Then they are blotted with a soft towel, and the scar lines are smeared with alcohol or brilliant green. You should not steam 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;
- Among the vegetables, cabbage, bell peppers, tomatoes, carrots, and herbs are considered useful. 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 porridges;
- To enrich your veins with vitamin E, add vegetable oil to your dishes - olive, pumpkin or sunflower;
- To saturate 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 salads from mussels, crabs, shrimp, oysters and squid;
- To maintain vascular health, it is recommended to consume several walnut kernels 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 extremities goes well. If surgical treatment is successful, the patient is discharged home after two days. But sometimes unexpected complications occur that you need to know about in advance.
Possible complications after surgery in the extremities:
- The 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 places where a puncture or incision was made, the skin begins to thicken. Within a month, the seal resolves on its own;
- If the skin incision 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 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 described consequences after surgery, it is necessary to carry out their prevention.
Preventive measures
Some people's wounds heal very quickly, while others suffer from the appearance of keloids. For this reason, varicose veins not only need to be removed, but all preventive measures must be taken to avoid undesirable 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 feet to increase the speed of venous blood flow;
- When you sleep, make sure that your legs are slightly higher than your torso;
- After a couple of days, begin to actively sit up in bed;
- Place an elastic bandage on your operated leg and begin walking and performing 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 lead an active lifestyle, perform physical therapy, go to the pool, and eat a healthy and balanced diet.
To avoid the development of varicose veins and removal of varicose veins, you need to exercise, run, walk a lot, swim and attend yoga classes.
If you stand a lot throughout the day, you need to take short breaks every two hours - walk on your heels and then on your toes. To avoid varicose veins during pregnancy, it is recommended to wear special compression stockings or tights.
Contraindications to surgery for varicose veins
It is not always possible to remove veins using surgery for varicose veins. Treatment of the disease by surgical intervention cannot be carried out for people suffering from hypertension (late stage of the disease), coronary artery disease, severe forms of infectious diseases, erysipelas, and eczema.
The 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 risk your health, you need to carefully read what reviews different doctors have. Only after a thorough analysis of the collected information about doctors 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 have surgery, treatment of varicose veins is carried out using conservative methods. The initial stages of the disease can be treated as follows:
- Thanks to compression garments, bulging blood vessels can be maintained in tone. To choose the right compression, you need to consult a doctor;
- You can make lotions for sore areas of the legs from yogurt and wormwood decoction. A compress made from hop infusion, alcohol tincture from 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;
- To treat the disease, lotions, masks or baths are also made from blue clay;
- After consultation with a doctor, varicose veins of the legs can be treated with special pharmaceutical ointments, creams, patches, gels or tablets.
The described conservative methods can be used only in the initial 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 a timely manner to protect the health of your legs.
How do patients respond to surgery for varicose veins of the legs?
If you carefully study all the reviews about surgical intervention for varicose veins, you can draw the following conclusion. If you have indications for surgery, there is no need to be afraid. Feel free to do and strictly follow all further instructions from the doctor. And very soon you will forget about varicose veins and all its unpleasant symptoms.
Now you know what types of surgical intervention exist for varicose veins in the legs. How to prepare for surgery and what to do after it to avoid unwanted complications and relapse.