Dr K K Pandey
If you suddenly start complaining of heaviness and strain in your legs and feet and gradually you see a slight swelling in the begining and then that swelling in the legs starts increasing rapidly and along with it the pain in the legs also begins increasing. You are requested not to take this problem lightly. Especially if this problem of swelling of legs has occurred after a leg injury or a road traffic accident, then do not sit idle, consult a vascular surgeon immediately, otherwise the problem can become serious. Moreover, the risk of losing one’s life may also increase.
Why is sudden swelling of legs dangerous?
The biggest reason for this is the accumulation of blood clots in the veins located in the legs, due to which the process of ascending of oxygen-deficient venous[Impure} blood gets weakened, as a result of which venous blood get clogged in the veins of the legs and feet. When these clots gradually accumulate in the leg veins, suddenly swelling starts increasing in the feet. If these blood clots climb up and reach the blood pipes of lungs, breathing difficulty will suddenly begin and the risk of death will also increase. The condition of accumulation of blood clots in the veins of these legs is called DVT i.e., ‘Deep Vein Thrombosis’.
Which people are victims of this sudden swelling in the legs?
People who neither walk regularly nor do exercise often become victims of sudden swelling in the legs. People who are overweight and either sit for long periods of the day, such as shopkeepers, or stand for long periods of time, such as traffic policemen, cannot avoid sudden swelling of the feet. Women who sit in front of the television for hours every day and do not control their weight are also more prone to leg problems like swelling. Pregnant women often suffer from sudden swelling in their legs either during pregnancy or after delivery. Apart from this, there is a risk of sudden swelling in feet and legs in women taking hormones or contraceptive medicines. Cancer patients, especially those with lung, pancreas and intestinal cancer, are at risk of swelling in the legs and accumulation of blood clots in the leg veins.
What to do if your feet suddenly swell?
Get treatment started immediately, without being careless and without wasting precious time. Consult an experienced vascular surgeon immediately and get a special examination of the leg veins done under his supervision, which is called a Venous Doper Study. This will reveal whether blood clots have accumulated in the veins of the legs or not. If there are clots, then in what quantity and in what length of the leg vein involved. Somewhere the droplets of blood have reached the stomach pipe. Along with this, echocardiogram of the heart also has to be done., If the blood droplets have reached the blood vessel located in the stomach, then it becomes necessary to undergo CT angiography of the lungs.
Methods of treatment
If blood particles have accumulated in the leg canal. So, walking and running should be stopped and the patient should take rest immediately. The feet should be kept on top of the pillow after placing a pillow under the feet. And treatment should be started immediately under the supervision of a vascular surgeon, and blood thinning medication should be started.
Latest treatment of sudden leg swelling (DVT)
If blood particles have accumulated in the veins of the legs, then CT venography of the legs (venous angiography) and pulmonary angiography should also be done. If the blood particles have reached the tubes of the lungs, then immediately put the IVC filter in the thick stomach tube so that the blood particles can be prevented from sliding up the tubes of the legs and the lungs will be protected. After inserting the IVC filter, blood particles have to be cleaned from the leg tube. first cleaning the blood particles from the tube.
Non surgical Procedure is now a boon for such patients
Previously cleaning of blood clots was done by surgery which in medical language is called Vein Thrombectomy. But nowadays, without making cuts on the leg, these blood clots are first broken, dissolved and finally are sucked out by highly specialized modern machines. This procedure in medical language is called non-surgical venous thrombectomy. With this method, the patient’s health improves quickly and the pain reduces rapidly. Swelling of the legs reduces to a great extent and due to drastic reduction in the amount of blood clots, the blood pipes of lungs are prevented from being flooded with blood clots and clogging and thus danger to life is also averted. The second advantage is that with this method, there is no permanent swelling in the feet and legs in the future, and the possibility of wound formation in the feet also reduces.
How to prevent sudden swelling in feet?
Take a morning walk every day. Walk at least five kilometers every day, do not let your weight increase. Do not sit continuously for more than an hour. After one hour of sitting has passed, get up, walk for five or ten minutes and sit again. Similarly, never stand continuously for more than an hour, sit down for five minutes after an hour and keep your feet elevated on a stool. Do proper leg exercises.
(The author is Senior Consultant Department of Vascular & Endovascular Surgery Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, New Delhi)
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