”Doctor, my varicose veins are so severe that my skin is darkened, will it be amputated?” 65-year-old Master Zhang has had varicose veins for many years, and in recent months he has developed skin pigmentation, and has not been seen. Recently, while talking with a neighbor, he heard that his condition would lead to amputation in the future, so he came to the vascular surgery department with apprehension.
”I have bruises on my legs, which suddenly became hard and painful yesterday, what should I do?” 55-year-old Ms. Zhang has varicose veins, and 1 day ago the varicose veins in her calf suddenly became hard, red and painful, so she came to the vascular surgery department for treatment.
”I have varicose veins, although it is not serious, but it is not good to show my legs in summer, like crawling with an earthworm, how should I treat it?” Young Ms. Chen likes to wear skirts, but the varicose veins on her legs affect her beauty very much. She wants to treat them but is reluctant to accept the surgical method and is worried about the scars left by the surgery, so she consults whether there is a more beautiful way to treat them.
Varicose veins are the most common disease in vascular surgery clinics. When looking at the clinics, varicose vein patients are most concerned about what harm varicose veins do and how to treat them, here, we give a unified answer to our patients.
Let us first look at the classification of varicose veins.
Specifically, see the following chart.
From a professional point of view, the indications for treatment of varicose veins are patients with CEAP classification C3 and above. In layman’s terms, the indications for treatment are firstly, varicose veins, and secondly, combined edema, skin pigmentation, skin hardening, ulcers and other symptoms. The symptoms of Zhang and Ms. Zhang belong to patients who have indications for surgery. Varicose veins do not cause amputation, but should be treated if they cause the above symptoms. If the varicose vein mass forms thrombus locally, it may cause the spread of thrombus or even pulmonary embolism, which is life-threatening and should be treated in time. If the aesthetic requirements are not high, the treatment can be done through traditional surgical methods.
With the development and progress of the society and the improvement of people’s living standards, the requirements for the treatment of the disease have also changed, and more and more patients with mild varicose veins (C0-C2 varicose veins) can be treated for the sake of aesthetics. This is especially true for women who have high aesthetic requirements. For this group of patients, a purely surgical approach would require many small incisions in the calf and would not achieve cosmetic results, so sclerotherapy is most appropriate. So Ms. Chen’s case can also be treated.
Let’s take a look at the picture of a patient with mild varicose veins treated with foam sclerotherapy.
Diagram of foam sclerotherapy for reticular varicose veins.
Here is the picture of the treatment.
Before treatment
After treatment
Before treatment After treatment
Before treatment After treatment
Before treatment
After treatment
Foam sclerotherapy requires a period of wearing elastic stockings after treatment, and for some patients with a large number of varicose vein clusters, it is possible that multiple treatments may be required.
So for patients with varicose veins, an individualized treatment plan is chosen for the patient depending on the severity of the condition and the patient’s requirements.