Five days ago I had the greater saph and lesser saph veins treated. On the lesser saph vein I felt like my foot was on fire for a good five seconds two different times. Now my ankle, heel, and side of foot are completely numb and uncomfortable. Will this go away/heal?
It may or may not. Time will tell whether the injury will be permanent. Most of these are temporary and resolve within a few days to weeks.
Published on Jul 11, 2012
Whether the numbness in your foot will go away is a very difficult question to answer. What it sounds like is that the person who performed your treatment ( I am assuming you had an Endovenous laser ablation treatment), probably entered your great and small saphenous veins near your ankle. The problem with entering at this level is that there is a saphenous nerve and sural nerve that run across your great and small saphenous veins, respectively, at ankle level. So when your physician lasered the veins, he/she probably burned those nerves resulting in the initial fire in your foot and the eventual numbness that you are reporting. This is why I always enter a certain distance above the ankle in hopes of avoiding these nerves. Even by doing this, I can never guarantee that my patient never gets this nerve damage, but I can significantly minimize it. Now, whether the numbness will resolve depends on how much power the physician put into the laser during treatment. If the doc used excessive power on the vein, he/she likely also over-powered your nerve. If s/he used minimal power in the laser, you may improve. You will find out over the next few weeks. If it improves great; if it does not, then you will probably have to live with it.
Published on Jul 11, 2012
It is hard to answer your question without evaluating you.
Published on Jul 11, 2012
The sural nerve was likely traumatized. This usually resolves with time but sometimes the numbness can be permanent.
Published on Jul 11, 2012
It is common to have nerve irritation because there are millions of nerve cells along those veins that were treated. Sometimes those nerves are irritated or damaged but they will heal and the numbness should subside within a few weeks. You should have a follow up appointment scheduled already with your provider for 1-2 weeks post procedure.
Published on Jul 11, 2012
You need to discuss this with your treating physician.
Published on Jul 11, 2012
Nerve irritation from thermal ablation usually resolves, but may take months.
Published on Jul 11, 2012
This may not go away, but it will take up to 6 months to know for sure.
Published on Jul 11, 2012
What has happened is that the sural nerve was heated at the time of the ablation. Usually this numbness will resolve over time. However, it could take several months to a year to improve and , rarely, it will not get better.
Published on Jul 11, 2012
You should consult with your treating surgeon. I typically do not treat both veins in one setting. The "fire" sensation could be gaps in the local anesthesia which was injected but with the residual numbness it may be that the nerves may have been close to the area treated. We have rarely seen any large areas of numbness as you describe. I would recommend gentle massage over the numb areas several times per day to decrease the sensitivity of the nerves. You should consult with your treating surgeon also. You may need to take an anti-inflammatory medication for a while.
Published on Jul 11, 2012
If the numbness is from sural nerve injury, you should have your doctor evaluate you and try to help you. A referral to a neurologist might be a good idea. If the injury is slight, cold laser treatments and application of gabapentin gel can help, but it is a long-term process. Call your doctor immediately.
Published on Jul 11, 2012