Vein disease affects one half of Americans. It is more common in women and those with a family history of vein problems. There are many forms of vein disorders. Varicose veins are the most commonly seen. They are bulging veins that are caused by poorly functioning valves in the veins and abnormal stretching of the vein walls. Spider veins are tiny veins just under the skin that are red or blue in color. The root cause of most of these disorders are the veins themselves. They do not properly propel blood back to the heart.
How do you know if you have vein disease?
The usual symptoms are aching, restless, and/or swollen legs. Your legs may be fatigued and have painful bulging veins. In some people the veins are not visible to the eye, but they can be seen and diagnosed with a simple ultrasound in the office.
How is vein disease treated?
There are many ways to treat poorly functioning veins. These range from compression stockings to needle based procedures to shrink the veins and rid the patient of the symptoms the faulty veins cause. As this is a medical condition, most insurance companies will cover these treatments.
Sclerotherapy:
This is a simple injection of a solution into the affected vein. It takes only minutes and does not require pain medication or sedation. It is ideally suited for spider veins and small varicose veins. The fluid causes the vein to shrink, and in most cases, eliminate the tiny veins completely and almost instantly. We recommend this for people who have small spider veins. This can be done alone, or more commonly, after other vein procedures have been completed. Many times the small spider veins and smaller varicose veins are “fed” by or supplied by larger veins under the skin. Treating these bigger veins first will lead to a higher chance of the smaller ones staying closed after sclerotherapy.
Laser Therapy:
The standard way to treat the larger veins under the skin is with laser based ablation. With this procedure, a patient is given a small amount of pain medication before coming to the office. Once there, the leg to be treated is cleaned in a sterile fashion. The doctor will then place a small IV or intravenous in the vein to be treated. Through the IV, the laser fiber is placed in the correct position using ultrasound guidance. At that point, heat energy is delivered through the laser to treat the affected vein. The whole process takes less than an hour. Patients are encouraged to walk right away. There is very little discomfort.
Phlebectomy:
There are some varicose veins that are very large. Sometimes, even despite other treatments like injections, stockings, and even laser treatments; these larger veins are still visible and may cause symptoms. When this occurs, the next step is to remove this portion of the vein. This can be done in the office with local anesthetics. A few small incisions are made along the course of these diseased veins. Then, using special sterile instruments, that portion of the vein is removed permanently. The leg is then wrapped to minimize any minor bleeding. Patients are again encouraged to walk afterwards.
