| Have
you been putting up with painful varicose
or unsightly spider veins without realizing
that they may be signs of a deeper problem? |
|
Your
leg fatigue, aching pain and swelling
may
be symptoms of venous insufficiency.
Venous insufficiency may cause permanent
damage if left untreated. Though these
ugly veins may appear similar to you,
the causes can vary. You should
be evaluated by a vein specialist who
can determine the underlying causes and
can offer you all the state-of-the-art
methods of treatment.
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|
| Who
should treat your veins? |
|
Significant
venous reflux can be the cause of
varicose veins and needs to be corrected
first. This also includes spider
veins. Veins of any size should be
treated by a physician who understands
venous physiology. As a Board Certified
Vascular Surgeon with over 15 years
experience, Dr. Bardwil understands
venous disease and can help you choose
among the available treatment options.
Dr.
Bardwil will meet with you for a comprehensive
venous evaluation. Our mission is to
provide compassionate, cutting edge,
personalized care to our patients in
a comfortable, pleasant environment.
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| What
are varicose and spider veins? |
| |
Varicose
Veins are dilated and ropy appearing
blue
vessels visible under the skin, often
a 1/4 inch or larger in diameter. Spider
Veins are small blue or red vessels
visible
within the skin, usually on the leg,
face, neck or chest. It is estimated
that 50% of the adult population suffer
from vein diseases.
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| Factors
that contribute to Varicose Veins: |
|
- Heredity
(the most common cause)
- Pregnancy
- Hormone
Replacement Therapy
- Birth
Control Pills
- Prolonged
Standing or Sitting
- Obesity
- Increasing
Age
|
|
| Disorders
related to varicose and spider veins. |
|
 |
In
the Leg Diagram, the bold red lines represent the
deep venous system. The lighter
blue lines represent the superficial
system. The Greater Saphenous Vein
is the main tree of the superficial
system. The varicose veins are
the branches of the tree.
|
|
| Superficial
Venous Reflux |
| |
The
condition that results from these leaky
valves is known as reflux. When the blood
is refluxing back down the legs it puts
excess pressure on the vein walls, which
causes them to expand. This expansion
causes the valves to be even more ineffective.
In
order to treat the varicose veins effectively
the greater saphenous vein must
be treated. If we just removed the branches,
the refluxing blood in the main tree
would
form more varicose veins.
In
rare cases you may have reflux in the
greater saphenous vein that causes
spider
veins on the medial thigh, knee and calf.
But for the most part spider veins
are
unrelated to reflux in the saphenous
vein.
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| Venous
Stasis Ulcers |
|
When
reflux is left untreated over many years,
the constant pressure backup may cause
a leaking of the blood into the tissues.
This leaking causes brown stains on the
skin. This is known as stasis skin changes
and can become serious.
In
cases where the stasis is severe, a breakdown
of the tissue may result in a chronic
venous stasis ulcer. Venous stasis ulcers
are very difficult to treat and are chronic
in nature with the ulcer reopening just
when you thought it was healed.
Because
of this complication some insurance companies
may consider it medically necessary to
treat your varicose veins. Our insurance
specialist will help to determine your
specific benefits.
Venous
stasis ulcers do not occur in all patients
with varicose veins. Unfortunately, we
cannot definitively predict who will go
on to develop this complication. When
skin changes begin to appear, the likelihood
of an ulcer increases.
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