Iatrogenic damage to the vascular-nerve bundle and lymphatic collectors of the femoral triangle during phlebectomy

Abstract

The rapid development of innovative medical technologies, the expansion of indications for surgical treatment, a significant increase in the number of operations performed for varicose veins entails a steady increase in the frequency of iatrogenic damage to the vascular-nerve bundle and lymphatic collectors of the lower limb. This can lead to severe complications requiring surgery, social and economic consequences associated with the need forlong-term outpatient and inpatient treatment, social security costs and a marked decrease in quality oflife. Reports on the occurrence of this pathology in the medical literature are few and, as a rule, describe extremely rare clinical cases. Timely diagnosis of complications, tactics of surgical treatment of patients with iatrogenic injuries in the surgical treatment of varicose veins and possible options for correcting emerging complications continue to cause discussion and remain one of the discussed problems of modern angiosurgery. The article provides a review of the literature devoted to the analysis of possible causes of iatrogenesis in varicose vein surgery: damage to the neurovascular bundle and lymphatic vessels of the femoral triangle, femoral vein, great saphenous vein, femoral artery, concomitant damage to the artery and vein, lymph nodes and basins, saphenous nerve during phlebectomy. The issues of diagnosis and options for correcting the complications that have arisen. The problem of mistakes and complications in the vein surgery should be resolved through comprehensive training of phlebologists, including compulsory teaching of vascular surgery skills, as well as supplying special equipment and instruments to the clinics.

Keywords

• varicose veins
• phlebectomy
• iatrogeny
• iatrogenic vein injuries
• iatrogenic arterial injuries