Haemodilution in Venous Disease

Abstract

Postoperative deep vein thromboses (DVT) and post-phlebitic ulcers are usually caused by stasis of the blood. The flow of blood in a vein does not depend only on the pressure gradient. The rheological properties of the blood must also be considered.

We therefore studied the effects of various degrees of intraoperative normovolemic haemodilution on the incidence of postoperative DVT. The results of these studies indicate that moderate intra- and post-operative haemodilution lessens the risk of DVT.

Most post-phlebitic ulcers heal after appropriate treatment on an ambulatory basis. A certain number of these ulcers prove, however, to respond badly to the treatment; they are called resistant post-phlebitic ulcers. It seemed logical to increase patients' ability to combat stasis by adding the process of haemodilution to the classical treatment. A year after treatment finished, the success rate amounted to nearly 80%.