Often patients at a phlebologist's appointment ask if it is possible to treat varicose veins in the legs with injections. As a rule, compression sclerotherapy – surgical treatment of varicose veins with intravenous injection of drugs in combination with the use of elastic compression. Today, varicose veins, especially at the initial stage of the disease, are effectively treated with compression therapy. This operation allows you to do without hospitalization of the patient, has a simple technique, and patients like the possibility of a quick return to active life.
Peculiarities of the operation of compression sclerotherapy
The compression therapy method is based on the property of certain drugs to interact with the walls of the veins and cause them to stick together. After intravenous injection of the drug, the blood flow stops in this area, then a strand forms at the site of the glued vein, which later resolves.
Compression therapy is recommended for patients with telangiectasias, reticular varicose veins, hemangiomas, lymphangiomas. Varicose veins require an additional examination of the patient before prescribing compression sclerotherapy. You need to know the prevalence of varicose veins, the state of the deep veins, the individual anatomical features of the patient's venous system. To do this, ultrasound duplex angioscanning is prescribed, which makes it possible to obtain color blood flow mapping.
Before compression sclerotherapy, the patient should be asked about the medications he is taking, it is especially important to know about hormonal drugs, warn that you need to avoid taking aspirin and other NSAIDs, as well as smoking and drinking alcohol 2 days before the operation.
Immediately after the operation compression sclerotherapy, an elastic bandage is applied, which the patient must wear without removing it for 3-7 days. After the procedure, the patient is recommended to walk for half an hour. During the next visit, the doctor conducts an examination and decides on the need for repeated procedures. On average, varicose veins require 2-3, sometimes 5 injection courses, depending on the characteristics of the vein lesion.
Contraindications for compression sclerotherapy
Compression sclerotherapy is contraindicated for some categories of patients. These are those who are allergic to sclerosing drugs, are obese, or cannot for any reason maintain a mode of movement after surgery.
Other contraindications for compression therapy include:
- pregnancy and lactation period;
- atherosclerosis of the arteries of the lower extremities;
- acute vein thrombosis;
- certain cardiovascular diseases;
- inflammatory or infectious diseases of the skin.
Possible side effects of compression therapy
Before starting the operation, the patient must be informed that compression therapy – this is not an absolute panacea for varicose veins, and a relapse is possible, that after the operation side effects are possible and that the surgeon's instructions regarding the rehabilitation period will have to be followed exactly, otherwise complications are quite likely.
Among the side effects that last from several hours to several weeks after surgery, the most commonly mentioned are:
- itching, peeling and temporary darkening of the skin along the operated vein;
- allergic reactions to the drug;
- drawing pain at injection sites (during exercise);
- thin vascular network along the sclerotic vein;
- swelling and telangiectasia in the ankle (if the veins were operated on in this area and the patient allowed the leg to be strained).
Severe complications include thrombophlebitis (often when the patient removes the elastic bandage on their own), an inflammatory focus (if the sclerosing agent gets under the skin), or sometimes skin necrosis.
Such complications are rare and usually reversible. It is very important to remember that the approach to the patient must be individual in order to avoid possible complications.
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