Two days ago, I was doing experiments in the lab when an old patient of varicose veins in lower limbs, Mr. Zhang, called me and complained to me as soon as I got through: “Dr. Zhang, I went to your clinic today to review the varicose veins in lower limbs, but the doctor in the clinic told me to buy a pair of elastic socks, just like women’s stockings, which cost more than three hundred dollars, and suggested me to buy two pairs, one pair to wear and one pair to wash. for use. I’ve had varicose veins in my lower extremities for decades, and I just had surgery last year. I’ve only heard that injections and medication can cure the disease, can socks also cure the disease?” I was happy to hear that, “Master Zhang, don’t be angry, they are not fooling you, this elastic socks, indeed can cure your disease!” “What? Really? The socks can really cure the disease,” Zhang said, sounding as if he was listening to a fantasy. Fortunately, the experiment was over, so I took the opportunity to tell Master Zhang the ins and outs of the elastic socks in detail. In fact, although the appearance of elastic stockings is very similar to women’s stockings, but their structure is completely different, the general stockings only play a decorative role, there is no special function, and there is no difficulty in manufacturing. Stretch stockings, however, are obviously different, as they are made up of sections with different pressure gradients, with the highest pressure in the lower section and less pressure as you go up, creating a pressure gradient from bottom to top that promotes the return of blood. So far, it is not easy to do this, therefore, the elastic stockings are mostly imported products, which cannot be copied domestically, and even if they are, the pressure gradient is not guaranteed, which is one of the main reasons why the price of elastic stockings remains high. Some counterfeit products out there are called elastic stockings, and the price is cheaper, maybe only about one hundred yuan, but the difference in quality is too much. So, what is the role of the pressure gradient of the elastic stockings? As we know, varicose veins of the lower limbs and deep vein thrombosis can be collectively called lower limb venous reflux disease, as the name suggests, their common feature is that the veins of the lower limbs due to various reasons (venous valve dysfunction or venous blockage) lead to the difficulty of blood flow back to the heart and accumulate in the lower limbs, the lower limbs are therefore blood stagnation, which in turn causes swelling of the lower limbs and secondary varicose veins of the superficial surface. Therefore, if the blood vessels cannot return all the blood to the lower extremities on their own, external forces are needed to help them achieve this goal, and so elastic stockings are created to help the return of blood to the lower extremities with their pressure gradients, thereby treating the superficial varicose veins or reducing the swelling of the lower extremities. Strictly speaking, the therapeutic role of compression stockings is supplementary but indispensable. On the one hand, elastic stockings cannot replace other treatments, especially for patients with severe varicose veins, they cannot replace surgery, and surgery cannot be delayed because of the use of elastic stockings; on the other hand, for mild varicose veins, simple elastic stockings can often effectively delay the progress of the disease or even avoid surgery, even for patients who need surgery, given the irreversibility of the lesion base and the need for symptomatic improvement. Even in patients requiring surgery, given the irreversibility of the lesion base and the need for symptomatic improvement, compression stockings are still required postoperatively to maintain the surgical outcome, improve swelling of the lower extremity, and prevent recurrence of the lesion. Therefore, for almost all patients with lower extremity venous reflux disease, compression stockings can play a major or secondary role and are an important part of the treatment process that cannot be ignored. Of course, the price of elastic stockings is high because of their high technical content, mainly imported products, but most of them can be used for at least one year, and some of them can even be used for nearly ten years if they are used properly, so it is worth spending a few hundred dollars for their efficacy and cost effectiveness. After listening to my explanation, Mr. Zhang suddenly understood and happily bought a pair of elastic stockings and went home. Zhang Lei, Department of Vascular Surgery, Shanghai Changhai Hospital