A Variety of Minimally Invasive Vein Treatments Are Available

Venous disease can cause a variety of unpleasant and uncomfortable symptoms, including bulging and debilitating varicose veins, darkened and leathery skin, slow-healing sores and leg and ankle ulcers. Fortunately, vein care experts are ready to help at all Center For Advanced Vein Care campuses.

In Vein Care Center these treatments can collapse or remove visible varicose veins and treat abnormal veins that are not visible but may be the source of the symptoms and disease. They can also prevent further damage to the blood vessels, connective tissue and underlying skin, such as discoloration or scarring.

Some patients with varicose veins experience pain or other signs and symptoms, such as heaviness of the legs, a feeling that they are full or heavy, itchiness, leg cramps, swelling or tenderness and burning or throbbing sensations. These symptoms usually get worse during warm days, when blood vessels dilate and more blood pools in the legs. Varicose veins may also become painful when wearing tight clothing or shoes that are restrictive and can impact normal blood flow.

Getting varicose and spider veins treated early can prevent the condition from getting worse, help you avoid serious complications such as bleeding or ulcers, and allow you to return to an active lifestyle with few restrictions. If your varicose veins are making you uncomfortable, talk to your doctor about whether treatment is right for you.

Your health care provider will do a physical exam and ask about your symptoms and family history. They may also do an imaging test, such as a duplex ultrasound external link, to check blood flow through the veins in your legs and feet.

A common treatment for varicose veins is sclerotherapy, which involves injecting a special solution into the faulty vein. The solution causes the vein to close up and fade away over time. The procedure can be done in the office and takes an hour or less.

For more severe and larger varicose veins, your provider can tie off and remove the damaged vein in a surgical procedure called vein ligation or stripping. This procedure can be done on an outpatient basis, but you will need to have medicine to help you sleep through the operation.

Your doctor will decide what treatment is best for you based on your symptoms and the results of a medical exam, an ultrasound and possibly a CT scan or MRI. They will consider the effect of your symptoms on your daily activities and your risk for serious problems, such as deep vein thrombosis (DVT) blood clots in the deeper leg and thigh veins that can travel to the lungs. You will likely need to have a follow-up appointment with a DVT screening using an ultrasound. If they find a DVT, you will need treatment to prevent it from progressing to a life-threatening clot in the lungs. For this reason, it is important to see a vein specialist as soon as you develop symptoms of vein disease.