Varicose & Spider Veins
Venous insufficiency (reflux) disease
If you suffer from leg pain, tired legs, achy legs, swelling, or varicose veins you may have a disease called venous reflux disease. This disease develops when the valves that keep blood flowing out of the legs and back to the heart become damaged or diseased. As a result, vein valves will not work properly. This leads to many lower extremity problems such as varicose veins, spider veins, leg pain, leg swelling, fatigue, and even ulcers.
Northpointe can improve your symptoms with a comprehensive approach and management of your venous problems. With either an ablation of the vein in the leg and/or sclerotherapy.
Varicose Veins-What are they?
Not only are they unsightly, but they are painful too. Varicose veins appear when the vein is damaged which causes the blood to flow in the wrong direction. Blood will then pool in the veins causing the them to swell. This leads to pain, fatigue, heaviness, itching and other symptoms. Varicose veins can greatly reduce a persons quality of life.
Spider Veins-How do these appear?
The force of gravity and the pressure of ones body weight make the legs a primary location for spider veins to appear. In addition the task of carrying blood from the bottom of the body to the heart contributes to spider veins. These little veins are just below the skin’s surface, which makes them easily visible. They are a form of varicose veins and a mild form of vascular insufficiency.
Procedures
A Venous Ultrasound provides pictures of the veins throughout the upper or lower extremities. The most common reason for a venous ultrasound is to check for blood clots, especially in the veins of the legs. Another reason is to check for venous insufficiency (see left panel). These ultrasounds are painless and can take up to 1.5 hours.
A Venous Ablation is performed as an outpatient procedure in our office. The ablation is performed by closing off the problem vein. As the vein closes, the vein wall shrinks and the blood is rerouted to healthy veins. Following the procedure a bandage is placed over the insertion site and additional compression may be provided to aid healing. Typically you may resume normal activities within a day. Your doctor might ask you to refrain from strenuous activities for a period of time.
Ultrasound Guided Sclerotherapy is a relief for patients who have always wanted a fast, relatively painless method for varicose veins and spider veins removal. Often a single treatment with ultrasound guided sclerotherapy will also remove a cluster of spider veins especially if they are networked with large varicose veins. Ultrasound guided sclerotherapy is similar to conventional sclerotherapy. The only difference is that the doctor has a monitor on which he can visually see veins that cannot be seen with the ordinary eye. This means he can find hidden veins under the skins surface and eliminate them with greater accuracy and precision.