Swollen limbs should be promptly treated Deep vein thrombosis of lower limbs is one of the common diseases in vascular surgery, and if some patients “inexplicably” have swelling, thickening and pain in one lower limb, they should promptly seek medical attention. Dr. Meng Qingyi said this is because the iliac-femoral vein is the only trunk of lower limb venous return, once the thrombosis occurs, the entire lower limb venous return is blocked, causing serious lower limb swelling and other symptoms, and even gangrene, and there is a possibility of fatal pulmonary embolism, posing a threat to the patient’s life. The disease is most common in middle-aged and elderly patients, as well as in patients with severe trauma, after major surgery, childbirth and prolonged bed rest. The disease is not uncommon in clinical practice, but treatment is often delayed due to failure to make an early and correct diagnosis. Deep vein thrombosis of the lower extremities is mostly seen on the left side, slightly more in men than in women. In the early stage of thrombosis (acute stage), it often manifests as swelling, thickening and pain of lower limbs, elevated skin temperature, normal skin color or cold, purple and red, and in serious cases, it can cause limb necrosis. If once the thrombus is free and dislodged, the thrombus can flow back to the heart along the inferior vena cava and then to the lungs, causing sudden death by pulmonary artery embolism. Therefore, lower extremity deep vein thrombosis has become a potential invisible “killer” or “silent killer”, and the misdiagnosis rate is very high. After the acute period, the thrombus develops or extends upward to cause inferior vena cava obstruction syndrome, or due to the mechanization of the thrombus, it adheres to the vein wall to varying degrees and forms a whole, resulting in the obstruction of venous blood return to the lower extremities, leading to the sequelae of lower extremity deep vein thrombosis, mainly manifesting as swelling of the lower extremities, superficial varicose veins, darkening of the calf skin, and even forming ulcers, which will not heal for a long time and bring a lot of inconvenience to work and daily life. It brings a lot of inconvenience to work and daily life. Why is it easy to misdiagnose? In many cases of lower limb venous thrombosis, most of the patients do not pay attention to the clinical manifestations and delay the diagnosis and treatment. There are many causes of lower extremity swelling, including chronic renal insufficiency, congestive heart failure, anemia, hypoproteinemia, and so on. In the early stage of lower limb deep vein thrombosis, many patients do not pay attention to the symptoms because they are not serious, and sometimes they are misdiagnosed as “phlebitis” and “dengue”. In addition, most hospitals do not have specialized physicians and corresponding equipment, so that many patients can’t get correct diagnosis and treatment by moving to many hospitals. Therefore, patients with swelling and pain in one of their limbs should seek medical attention in time for early treatment.