One of the parts of the circulatory system located in the lower extremities of a person are the perforating veins. It is interesting that the blood through the veins in the legs moves from bottom to top. If a person has pathological changes, then this causes disturbances in blood circulation, and this leads to serious complications. So what are perforating veins and what role do they play?
Connecting vessels: physiology
Most of the perforating veins have special valves that are located directly above the fascia - the connective sheaths made of collagen. Thanks to these valves, blood flows into deeper channels and surface-type systems.
There are two types of perforating vessels:
- Straight. These veins connect the deep and superficial canals. Vessels of this type are large, but theynot so much. A good example of a direct perforating vein of the leg is the Cocket vein. It is located in the tendons.
- Indirect. Vessels of this type also connect both deep channels and superficial ones. The difference is that they use the blood channels of the muscles for this. Indirect veins are small and abundant in the legs.
If various kinds of pathological changes begin to develop in the lower extremities, this leads to failure of the perforating veins. There is a violation of blood circulation, which causes serious consequences for human he alth.
Pathological manifestations
What is vascular failure? In this case, the valves of the perforating veins fail. Because of this, most of the blood begins to drain into the saphenous veins from the deep channels. Such a pathology leads to the appearance of severe swelling in the area of the feet, the pressure characteristic of the circulatory system begins to gradually increase. Due to valve insufficiency of perforating veins, diseases such as thrombosis, varicose veins, thrombophlebitis and others can begin to develop.
Development of varicose veins
The causes of varicose veins can be various factors. The main reason for the development of this disease is considered to be perforant insufficiency of the veins of the lower leg and other parts of the lower extremities, which causes reverse blood flow. An imbalance in activity can also provoke the rapid development of varicose veins.muscles, elastic and collagen structures.
Gradually, blood begins to stagnate in the perforating veins, which leads to a noticeable increase in their size. Then the blood begins to be ejected into the subcutaneous network. In the presence of varicose veins, the patient may be disturbed by swelling, cramps, a feeling of severe heaviness in the legs, and the veins become pronounced.
Thrombophlebitis: a dangerous disease
If you do not start treating varicose veins, then a more serious disease may develop - thrombophlebitis. Pathology can cause death. Life-threatening complications appear when a blood clot enters a deep vein located on the thigh. If you do not see a doctor in time, the patient may experience pulmonary embolism.
Thrombosis
It is unrealistic to notice the development of pathology in the appearance of the lower extremities. This is the danger of disease. A person rarely pays attention to the symptoms, because they are not clearly expressed. The main symptoms are a rare sensation of pain in the legs, as well as stiffness and heaviness. If you do not pay attention to these signs, then soon thrombosis can develop either into an acute form or into thromboembolism.
Diagnosis of vein problems
If you notice the first signs of disorders in the work of the veins of the lower extremities - do not delay visiting a doctor. The specialist will conduct a thorough examination, study the tests and make functional tests.
Of course, these diagnostic measures will not be enough to make a correct diagnosis. Therefore, a more thorough examination is required. It includes the following types of diagnostics:
- Laboratory tests: analysis of urine and blood. With the help of analyzes, it is possible to assess the state of the patient's he alth.
- Coagulogram. This method checks the degree of blood clotting.
- Dopplerography of the legs is performed. The procedure helps to record all the boundaries of the blood flow, but, unfortunately, the diagnostic method does not allow to examine the entire vein.
- Ultrasound using duplex scanning. The technique allows you to find out the state of the patency of the veins of the legs, as well as to determine the presence of features of the venous system, the presence of thromboembolism, thrombosis.
- X-ray contrast study. It is prescribed only if the patient has complications of pathologies of perforating veins.
After the diagnosis is completed, the doctor will be able to carefully study the results, make a diagnosis and choose the most effective treatment. Treatment regimens may vary significantly in each individual case.
How vascular diseases are treated
If a thorough examination of the patient showed the presence of pathologies associated with perforating veins, then therapy should be started as soon as possible. To date, there are only two options for the treatment of leg vessels: surgical or conservative. The specialist selects the appropriate treatment option depending on the patient's state of he alth and the characteristics of the development of the disease.
Conservative treatment
If the pathology of the perforating veins of the lower extremities has just begun to develop, then conservative treatment will be quite enough. This type of therapy basically contains the following nuances:
- The patient should wear compression stockings or have perforator veins ligated.
- Remedial gymnastics in progress.
- Laser coagulation, sclerotherapy is done.
- Hydrotherapy.
- Use venotonics.
- You need to take medicine to eliminate swelling and inflammation.
- Following a special diet.
Conservative method of treatment helps to strengthen the walls of the affected vessels, make the veins more resilient, elastic, and improve blood circulation.
Surgical treatment
This therapy is considered radical and is used only if the pathology is in a neglected state. In order to eliminate the dysfunction of the perforating veins, during the surgical intervention, the affected vessel is excised or ligated.
Several options for surgical intervention are used, namely:
- Crossectomy. During the operation, the trunk of the subcutaneous vessel is excised directly at the place where the connection with the deep vein occurs.
- Striping. Doctors remove a certain part of the vein that has undergone pathological changes.
- Miniphlebectomy. This technique differs from the others in that no incisions are made on the patient's skin. Affected veins are removed only through punctures. This operation is safer, and the recovery period takes a little time.
Preventive measures
It is better to avoid disease than to treat it later. In order to prevent the insufficiency of the perforating veins of the lower extremities from appearing over time, it is worth observing simple preventive measures.
- Do leg exercises regularly.
- Always wear compression stockings if necessary. If you will be on your feet for a long time, then it is better to wear such underwear. It will reduce the load on the lower limbs and will control the state of blood flow.
- Keep your feet cool and warm.
- Be sure to walk outside every day.
- Don't wear tight fitting clothes.
- During sleep, you need to put your feet on a slight elevation to tidy up the outflow of blood.
- Take a contrast shower every day, which perfectly strengthens the walls of blood vessels.
- Reduce to a minimum or completely eliminate overly s alty, fatty and fried foods. Your diet should be he althy and complete.
- Get active.
If you follow these simple rules for prevention, then the perforating veins of your legs will be he althy throughout your life. But, if you notice at least some signs of disease, then you should immediately consult a specialist. Ignoring the symptoms of diseases of the vessels of the lower extremities can lead to serious consequences, up to disability. Therefore, it is so important to seek help from the hospital in time, describing all the complaints you have.
