Varicose veins in the lower extremities are a common disease and a multi-morbidity, and the prevalence rate of our population is about 20%. Patients feel heavy and swollen legs in mild cases, and in severe cases, they suffer from redness, swelling and pain, and even serious ulcers that do not heal over time. The traditional surgery for varicose vein treatment is high ligation and stripping, which is widely used, but has some defects: epidural anesthesia must be used, hospitalization, restriction of activities for 2 weeks after surgery, trauma, and postoperative scars.
On November 1, 2005, our department was the first to carry out the new technology of treating varicose veins in Guangxi – Varicose Vein (Demet) Laser Treatment (EVLT for short), which filled the blank in our region. This technology is the latest achievement of international vascular surgery development in the past one or two years, which has been recognized and applied by many scholars and experts in the industry, and is the new gold standard for varicose vein treatment in the future development of the discipline. The saphenous vein is punctured through the saphenous vein and the endothelium of the vein is destroyed by an infrared laser with a wavelength of 810 nm and a power of 12 W, which closes the varicose vein.
This new technology has the following features.
(1) Minimally invasive surgery: local puncture and introduction of fiber optic treatment to reduce scarring and postoperative infection;
(2) Local anesthesia;
(3) Rapid recovery;
(4) less complications no significant postoperative complications.
Varicose veins of lower limbs
I. About varicose veins
Prevalence of varicose veins: Varicose veins are a common disease in many countries around the world. About 25% of women and 15% of men suffer from these diseases worldwide.
Second, the causes of varicose veins: weakness of the vein wall, venous valve defects, elevated pressure in superficial veins
Third, the pathogenesis of varicose veins: blood reflux due to venous valve insufficiency
Blood reflux due to valve insufficiency
The left diagram is the normal blood flow diagram, the right diagram is the diagram of blood reflux after valve insufficiency
IV. Clinical manifestations of varicose veins
The superficial veins of lower limbs are worm-like.
-Various degrees of leg fatigue and pain.
-Lower limb swelling.
-Nutritional changes in the skin of the foot and boot: skin atrophy, flaking, itching, pigmentation, subcutaneous hard nodes, even eczema and skin ulcers.
Traditional treatment methods
–High ligation and stripping of the saphenous vein
The traditional procedure has a high success rate but has the following drawbacks:
- It must be performed in a ward operating room, the patient needs epidural anesthesia and requires a lot of medical resources.
- Hospitalization is necessary and activity is limited for at least two weeks after surgery.
- It is very traumatic, leaving multiple surgical scars and a high risk of infection.
- The cost of the procedure is high because of the amount of time and resources required.
Principle of laser treatment for varicose veins: The laser is used to close and fibroticize the blood vessels by introducing light-guided fibers into the varicose veins through an interventional method and using the thermal effect of the laser to precisely destroy the inner walls of the blood vessels.
Laser destruction of the vessel wall
The unique advantages of laser treatment of varicose veins:
-Success rate comparable to surgical procedures (98% cure rate)
-Can be performed in an outpatient operating room or in a hospital room abroad
-local anesthesia, eliminating the risk and cost of epidural anesthesia
-Less trauma, almost no surgical scars and less chance of infection in mild cases of simple puncture
-Fast postoperative recovery, no restriction of activities
- Few postoperative complications
- High safety, can effectively avoid medical disputes
We welcome all patients with varicose veins in the lower extremities to our department for consultation and treatment, and sincerely hope that you will be healthy and live a happy life!