Deep veins are the main vessels draining blood back from of the legs to the heart. Blockage or narrowing of these vessels lead to swelling of the legs, blackish colour change and non-healing wounds in the legs. This can happen due to a narrowing in the iliac veins (May – thurner Syndrome) or after an attack of deep vein thrombosis which leads to blockages and narrowing of veins.
Blockages of the deep veins is diagnosed by CT venogram or angiogram. They are treated by balloon angioplasty and stenting. This is a minimally invasive procedure that can be done on day care basis.
During balloon angioplasty a needle is inserted in your veins followed by a plastic tube through which an angiogram is done. The area of narrowing is identified and is dilated using a balloon and if required a stent is deployed in the area to keep the vessel from narrowing again.
A special ultrasound device called IVUS may be used to measure the vessel size and accurately deploy the stent.
Following this procedure patients can be discharged the same day or next day. Some patients will require compression dressing. Blood thinners will be started following this procedures which will regularly monitored by your surgeon.
There are no major complication associated with this procedure.
