Varicose veins are all too common affecting nearly 50% of females and 1 out of every 3 men. Varicose veins are protuberant, abnormal dilations in our legs due to venous insufficiency. These enlarged veins become palable blue or purple veins on the skin. While many patients are asymptomatic, varicose veins can indicate a disturbance in the circulation that should be diagnosed early for optimal treatment.  Symptoms to be aware of include pain in the legs, especially with prolonged sitting or standing, swelling, restless legs and heaviness.  More advanced symptoms include skin discoloration and venous ulceration preceded by an eczema.  If you experience any of these symptoms, the best advice is to seek out early attention from board-certified vein specialists.

Genetic predisposition is the often the main pre-disposing factor to developing varicose veins.  Additional influences include medications, prolonged standing or sitting, hormonal therapy, smoking, obesity and pregnancy. 

Who Should Seek Out A Vein Evaluation

• Leg pain especially after prolonged sitting or standing
• Swelling in the ankles, feet, and calves
• Venous eczema
• Discoloration of your skin in the affected area(purple, red, or brown)
• Restless legs syndrome
• Pelvic pain

The Treatment of Varicose veins can be divided into conservative treatments and medical interventions

Conservative Treatment

• Compression stockings
• Leg Elevation
• Comfortable shoes (avoiding high heels)
• Warm compresses especially if the veins feel tender or painful
• Diosmin (medical food that improves venous dynamics)
• Horse chestnut extract

In most cases, these treatments can help manage symptoms but the condition is often progressive.  Medical interventions are necessary when the symptoms affect quality of life.

The most effecitve treatments today are minimally invasive

• Vein Ablation
• Foam Sclerotherapy
• Vein Glue
• Cosmetic sclerotherapy
• Phlebectomy (not to be confused with outdated surgical stripping)

Vein ablation is the gold standard for treatment of saphenous vein disease resulting in venous insufficiency. The procedure is performed in the office or ASC using minimally invasive, percutaneous techniques.  With local anesthetic only, the region can be sufficiently numbed and treated for same day treatment without affecting your normal routine.  The procedure takes about 30 minutes in skilled hands. 

Foam sclerotherapy, phlebectomy and liquid sclerotherapy are adjunctive treatments to vein ablation to help manage large skin varicise veins not appropriate for ablation.  

To see if you are a good candidate for vein treatment, seek out your local vein specialist near me using an internet search.  Be mindful about the credentials, training , experience and preferred methods for varicose vein treatment before making any decisions about treatment.