Post-thrombotic syndrome is a condition that develops as a long-term complication of deep vein thrombosis. Predisposed women have a 5-6 times increased risk of thromboembolic complications, especially in the postpartum period. Even today, despite the wide arsenal of medical and invasive treatments, post-thrombotic syndrome cannot be completely curable. This is why the development and implementation of new techniques as well as the improvement of existing treatments are so important in modern vascular surgery.
Endovascular treatment of chronic venous insufficiency using intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) offers greater diagnostic capabilities than traditional phlebography and is used by the world's leading clinics. Thanks to this new approach, vascular surgeons at Almazov Centre are already helping patients get rid of a serious disease.
In July, specialists of the vascular surgery clinic of Almazov Centre performed surgery on two young women with post-thrombotic syndrome and a history of deep vein thrombosis in the postpartum period. One of the patients had edema of the right foot and lower leg for several years, varicose veins on the anterior abdominal wall and subsequent trophic disorders in the lower leg. In the second patient, the disease manifested as swelling of the left lower limb after COVID-19 in 2021. Additional examination showed that the women had iliac vein occlusion, a condition when the lumen of the vessel is entirely closed.
The surgical team of the Research Department of Vascular and Interventional Surgery headed by Dr. Mikhail Chernyavsky performed an endovascular procedure – recanalization of the occluded vein with stent placement. Thanks to IVUS used during surgery, the surgeons could accurately determine the diameter of the vein and the length of the occlusion, which made it possible to select the optimal stent and assess the degree of its deployment after implantation. The very next day after surgery, the patients noted a significant improvement as edema decreased, and a couple of days later they were discharged with outpatient follow-up by vascular surgeons at Almazov Centre.
Almazov Centre is a leading medical centre in Russia, its cutting edge facilities and scientific and clinical resources make it possible to conduct priority research and implement newly developed methods of prevention, diagnosis and treatment for free medical care to the population.