Varicose Veins of Lower Limbs

Varicose Veins are the ugly looking tortuous dilated knotted veins seen on either sides of the leg which remain harmless for quite a long time. In the early phases treatment is mostly given for cosmetic reasons, but later it becomes very distressing by discoloration, edema of legs, eczema, and recurrent ulcerations around the foot,ankle joints and lower third of legs. Finally it produces painful non healing ulcers in the vicinity of  foot and ankle region. There are mainly two systems of veins to carry  blood from the lower limb to the heart. The most important vein is the Deep Vein (internal) which is protected by the strong muscles of legs and supported by non-return valves. If there is a block in this System, it has to bypass the deep vein and resume blood flow uninterrupted.  For this  purpose, we have another system, the Superficial Venous System (SVS)  which is called the Saphenous System  (see figure No.1) which has no muscular support, but of course, it has the valvular support. It is just below the skin and hence it is easily visible. Varicose Vein (VV) usually affects this system of vein which is remaining outside the muscular compartment of the leg.  This system is working only with the help of valves.

When the disease is primarily due to  the defective valvular functioning of the Superficial Venous System (external), we call it Primary Varicose Vein and when it is  secondarily involved due to some block in Deep (internal) Vein it is termed as Secondary Varicose Vein.