I didn’t update about the microphlebectomy and vascular surgery. It has been 6 weeks since my surgery. I’ve run the gamut of recovery and still have not reached the finish line. The pain and post-surgery slowness have gone away. I no longer get crackling electric shocks up my leg if I try to walk quickly and have to “heel strike” abruptly. Most of the initial bruising has diminished, but the edema remains. I can’t do a lot of things in yoga, because the swelling just under my knee prevents comfortable kneeling (kinda necessary in a lot of postures). My foot, at the base of my toes, is still quite puffy and tender which precludes a number of pairs of (really cute) shoes from being worn comfortably – especially when my teaching assignment right now involves 6 hours of continuous contact time and being on my feet.
My “extra special” present for having my surgery was/is a 2cm x 0.7cm raised “egg” (cyst) at the base of my shin. This, too, precludes the wearing of certain shoes AND is *at least* as ugly as the vericosities were and not as easily hide-able by long hems! I had it aspirated about 4 weeks ago, only for it to return within about 4 to 6 hours! I’ve just put up with it since then, and in my “follow-up” today we found that it is about 50 – 60% solidified and can no longer be aspirated at all. So now we wait. Most of the radiating pain from the cyst has abated and now it is just ugly, annoying and uncomfortable.
The bonus of today’s visit with the doctor was sclerotherapy! I didn’t know this was going to happen (nor did I really expect/want it). In this stage of the therapy, a mildly caustic detergent solution is injected into the discolored or spider veins left after the endovenous laser treatment and microphlebectomy. The detergent displaces the blood in the tiny, superficial veins and irritates them so that they collapse and remain colorless. It all seems rather much, and there were few of these to deal with, but it means another week in the compression stocking and a bit more limping.
Woot! Aren’t we having fun!!??