Varicose
veins are veins on your skin surface that are raised and that you can feel.
They are usually twisty and can occur any where on your leg and can even extend
into your groin region. Spider veins are smaller, fine clusters of veins on
your skin that are not raised. These can be blue or red in appearance and can
also be found on other areas of your body, such as on your face.
Varicose veins affect an estimated 40% of women and 25% of men, and 50% of
people over the age of fifty. Factors increasing the probability of having
varicose veins include a family history significant for vein problems, being
female, pregnancy, and advancing age. Prolonged standing, obesity, hormone
levels and physical trauma may also exacerbate the problem.
Regardless of the size, or if they are raised or non-raised, both varicose and
spider veins are signs that your veins are not working normally. The job of veins
is to carry blood out of your legs back to your heart. When veins inside of your
leg, that you can't see, aren't healthy, the blood starts to collect or pool
in your legs; this is called venous insufficiency. This extra blood feeds the
superficial veins which become distended with too much pressure and manifest
as varicose and spider veins as well as lower extremity pain and swelling.
Surgery (Ligation & Stripping): Use of traditional surgery
is decreasing due to the effectiveness of minimally invasive procedures. Surgery
can be quite painful, has a long recovery time, and is associated with recurrence
rates of 10 to 25 percent. Vein stripping is generally performed in an operating
room, with general anesthesia, and involves two large incisions at the groin
and knee. The vein is tied off, cut and then pulled (from other attached tributaries)
out of the leg. Bruising and swelling often occur post-procedure and nerves
surrounding the treated vein can be damaged, causing numbness or burning around
the surgical scar.
Compression Stockings: increase the ability of your leg circulation
to move blood by squeezing your veins, decreasing the “pooling” effect
of varicose veins.
Sclerotherapy: is a technique where solutions are injected
into veins causing them to seal. These veins are eventually resorbed by your
body. This technique can be applied under visual or ultrasound guidance.
Superficial Laser Treatments: a laser beam is applied to
the skin surface to cauterize small spider veins or very small (<3mm) varicose
veins.
Endovenous Laser Therapy (EVLT): is a minimally invasive
procedure which is the latest advancement in the treatment of varicose veins
and is rapidly taking the place of vein stripping procedures. Advantages include
short (< 1 hour) procedure time, an overall success rate of 93-98%, no scarring
or hospitalization, a low risk of complications, and a quick return to normal
activities.
The EVLT procedure:
A brief ultrasound exam will be used to locate and map out the vein. After
a local anesthetic is administered a very small catheter is inserted into
the diseased vein from a small entry point near your knee. A laser fiber
is then inserted through the catheter and energized causing the vein to seal
shut. The treated leg is then covered with a small bandage for two days.
The closed vein will eventually be resorbed by the body.
Patients are encouraged to walk immediately after the procedure and are able
to resume normal activities (aside from heavy lifting) the next day.
50%
of Americans over the age of 50 suffer from painful varicose veins caused by
venous insufficiency. The traditional surgical treatment for this condition
was stripping and ligation, an invasive surgery that patients found very painful
- and one that required up to six weeks of recovery time. Employing a new,
revolutionary laser technology called Endovenous Laser Therapy or EVLT,
the Interventional Radiologists at SJRA are now successfully treating unsightly
and painful varicose veins.
The Vascular Care Center is the newest and most advanced outpatient facility
in the South Jersey region offering Endovenous Laser Therapy or EVLT for
the treatment of varicose veins quickly and with no pain and minimal recovery
time in a relaxing outpatient setting. With this innovative treatment at the
Vascular Care Center, a laser fiber is inserted into the vein through a tiny
entry site at the knee. The laser energizes the fiber as it is withdrawn from
the vein. Energy emitted from the tip of the fiber causes only the treated
vein to seal, while the body automatically routes the blood to other healthy
veins.
In addition, ultrasound guided sclerotherapy is offered
to assist in the elimination of larger, deeper varicose veins and feeding veins
that can not be seen by visual inspection. A concentrated solution is injected
into the veins under ultrasound guidance, causing the vein to collapse and
seal.
