I have a question about compression/surgery socks. I have never had a surgery of any kind but it seems like a lot of hospitals use these , I guess to control blood clots. Did you use them pre-surgery, post surgery or both? Is it something you would use after you go home or just a day or two after surgery? What exactly do these do to prevent clotting, i understand compression but what is the thought process behind them.

Thanks.

They put mine on me in pre-op. Having been through this, I'm not 100% sure what the concept is really since mine spent most of the time bagging around my knees. They told me to pull them up but they didn't stay up. I'd have never imagined it, but I think the ones they put on me were just too big.

For the first few hours in my room they had those wraps on my lower legs that inflate and uninflate but that didn't last long either because they encourage you to get up and walk on your own as often as you can. Doing that when you are hooked up to the leg wraps tends to discourage just getting up and walking. I was told later that they were to have put them on me during my 4 hour rest at night (they skip one two hour walk so you can sleep some) but they never did.

For the socks, I was told I could take them off when I dressed to go home and that home use was then optional. If mine had fit I probably would have used them for the next few days at least.

I'm 99% certain all facilities will supply them to you.

They wrapped my legs in a stretchy gauze pre-op and took them off the day after.

Post-op I got 4 pair and wore them for a few months, I've had intermittent problems with edema in my legs which seems to of passed now that I've lost ~120 pounds. My feet would be cold in the evening and sore from the compression so I was anxious to not wear them any longer.

Anesthetic makes you more prone to deep vein thrombosis/clots. IIRC I got mine the night before (checked in a night early) and I wore them the 3 nights post op I spent in hospital.

I was flying the day I was discharged (again DVT risk) so they wanted me to keep wearing them, but they were so tight they were actually painful (left awful red marks if they bunched up), so I wore flight socks as soon as I got out.

I guess the compression must somehow prevent the blood from pooling if get a clot. Wikipedia's not explicit but it says re flight socks the following:

The results showed that asymptomatic DVT occurred in 10% of the passengers who did not wear compression tights. The group wearing compression hosiery had no DVTs.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_vein_thrombosis#Compression_stockings

the purpose is to prevent blood clotting. most don't need to go home with them, but some do (especially if you've had DVT before). If you do wear them afterwards, they're worn when you are inactive.

they even have milder size TED hose that you can wear like socks. like if you have a desk job, or a more sedentary life to prevent clotting.

Here is the bottom line on compression socks: USE THEM!

Your nurse will put them on the morning of your surgery day. You will wear them for the following afternoon and possibly the next day.

Here is the reason for their use. In medicine we refer to this phenomenon as Virchow's Triad. There are 3 main reasons that increase the probability of blood clot formation and subsequent dislodging of the thrombus (thrombosis).

1. Endothelial injury (Lining of your blood vessels)

2. Hypercoagular state (mostly genetic disorders)

3. Stasis

The latter applies to you! When you are in a lying down position for a while (such as when you have surgery, or when a patient is in the ICU for a prolonged period) you increase the probability of thrombus formation. Research has showed us that compressing the lower extremities greatly reduces the formation of blood clots.

Another helpful tip is to begin walking CAREFULLY the morning after your surgery. This should be done under the supervision of the nurse or the doctor him/her-self.

If you want to take it a step further, let me know and I can send you an article from a journal.

Best,

Dr. JSA