Vein Treatments, Pittsburgh
When considering taking care of your painful swollen legs, place them in the care of a full service vein center that has board certified surgeons that specialize in a wide range of treatments. This helps ensure that you get the personal treatment plan that best fits your needs.
DO NOT go to a facility that automatically gives everyone a dozen Sclerotherapy treatments!
Your treatment should start with a comprehensive ultrasound exam.
A thorough vein map takes about an hour per leg. All the larger veins like the Greater Saphenous Vein, Lesser saphenous vein, Accessory Veins and more. These veins are measured and the valves are checked for reflux. Refluxing veins are when the valves that keep the blood moving in one direction, toward the heart, leak and allow blood to flow backward. This, in conjunction with gravity, allow pooling in the vessels. This pooling of the blood stretches them out and that is what a varicose vein is.
Signs and Symptoms of Vein Disease
- tired achy legs
- swelling of feet and ankles
- blue/red ropy bulging veins
- charly horses
- night cramps
- restless leg syndrome
Causes of Vein Problems
When the valves in the veins in your legs don’t function properly, venous insufficiency develops. The valves in your leg veins let your blood flow in the right direction (toward your heart). A broken valve is unable to close correctly. Blood fights to move upward toward your heart when gravity takes over. Instead, it reverses direction, a condition known as venous reflux.
Conservative Therapy
The primary method of non-surgical vein care are compression garments. there are many degrees of compression from 10mmhg to 40mmhg. Your doctor will recommend the appropriate level of compression for you. Style wise there are knee high, thigh high, and to the waist. The also come in open and closed toe. Today there are even fashion colors, black dress hose and men’s white sport socks!
Options for Surgery for Varicose Veins
If you have been diagnosed with reflux (leaking vein valves), you have many treatment options. If you have any of the vein symptoms listed above, you have options. There are 4 treatments available depending on the size of the vein that is diseased.
- Vein ablation
- Microphlebectomy
- Sclerotherapy
- Laser Spider Vein Treatment
RF Vein Ablation
In a 45 minute office procedure, the abnormal vein that has the leaking valves can be easily shut down. Using ultrasound guidance, the vein is located and a small 1mm poke hole is made through numb skin into the vein. A thin wire is fed into the vein, being watched the entire time with the ultrasound. Once it’s in position, the tip is heated and slowly backed out, shutting down the vein as it goes. The old vein gets absorbed and turns into regular connective tissue. The area is closed with a band aid and patients wear stockings for 24 hours. Symptoms are resolved!
If you have questions about swollen achy legs call today for an appointment.