An estimated 35% of Americans are currently living with varicose veins. They’re often associated with embarrassing veins that bulge outward from under your skin, but there are other symptoms that can make life miserable. These include swelling, aching, and cramping. This can lead you to wonder what causes varicose veins and what can you do about them.
Varicose veins are caused by malfunctioning one-way valves within the vein. They’re supposed to help propel blood back toward the heart, but they can become stuck open and let blood pool in the legs and feet. Our team of surgeons offers a variety of treatments for varicose veins, including RFA, microphlebectomy, sclerotherapy, Varithena, and VenaSeal.
What causes varicose veins?
Varicose veins can develop for a number of reasons. Some people have a family history of the condition, but it can also be a side effect of standing or sitting for long periods of time. It’s also common for women during pregnancy due to hormonal changes. Talk to your doctor about other risk factors you may have.
Whatever the initial cause, the result is the same — weak or damaged blood vessels in your legs and feet. When veins are healthy, blood flows from your heart and circulates throughout your body. Your leg veins have one-way valves in them that help blood flow upward towards your heart. They open to let blood through, but close to prevent it from flowing back down.
Unfortunately, these one-way valves can malfunction and fail to keep blood flowing back towards your heart. The valves become stuck and are left open, causing blood to pool in your legs and feet. Over time, pressure increases inside your veins. This can result in the telltale dark, bulging varicose veins when left untreated, along with other symptoms.
Other symptoms of varicose veins include:
- Swelling
- Aching
- Feeling heavy
- Itchiness
- Skin discoloration
- Leg cramping at night
Check out our blog, 5 Varicose Vein Symptoms That Surprise Most Patients, to learn more about varicose vein symptoms.
You can treat your symptoms at home. If you sit or stand for long periods, then try to take breaks where you walk or sit, depending on what you spend most of your time doing. Compression stockings can help with swelling and other symptoms, as can elevating your legs above heart level to get your blood flowing.
Treatment for Varicose Veins in Evansville, Indiana
Gone are the days of painful vein stripping that requires staying in the hospital and a long recovery. Dr. Chandra S. Cherukupalli, Dr. Prasad V. Gade, Dr. Angela H Martin, and Dr. Donald E Patterson are passionate about providing you with the highest quality of care and helping you regain the life you love living.
We offer a full range of minimally invasive treatments for varicose veins. Some use lasers while others utilize foam to treat your symptoms at their source. All of these techniques are minimally invasive, which means that you’ll be back on your feet in no time.
Seeking treatment sooner than later can help prevent side effects of varicose veins. These include problems such as chronic vein insufficiency, blood clots, and deep vein thrombosis.
Radiofrequency Ablations (RFA)
RFA is another common form of minimally invasive varicose vein treatment. With RFA, we harness energy from radio frequencies to heat the walls of the vein, which results in scarring of the vein walls and closes them off. A small tube is used to perform the procedure, and it can be performed on large veins or in an office setting under local anesthesia.
Microphlebectomy (Ambulatory Phlebectomy)
Microphlebectomy is ideal for the dark, bulging veins often associated with varicose veins, which are usually too twisted for RFA to be effective. In this procedure, the vein is removed little by little using a small hook-like tool that is inserted through tiny pinholes made in the skin.
This process is still much more preferable to vein stripping since the holes are so small and general anesthesia isn’t necessary. Just like other forms of modern varicose vein treatment, scalpels and stitches aren’t necessary. Local anesthesia is enough to lessen any pain or discomfort during the procedure, but general anesthesia can be used if you prefer it.
Sclerotherapy
With sclerotherapy, we inject a special foam into your damaged blood vessels to seal them off and rid you of your painful symptoms. These injections are able to treat large areas of the vein in the shortest amount of time. They do wonders for removing hidden origins of your symptoms, as well.
Sclerotherapy is often used in combination with other forms of varicose vein treatment, such as RFA or microphlebectomy. This allows it to relieve your symptoms from deep varicose veins as well as lowering your risk of new, superficial (shallow or visible) varicose veins.
Varithena
Varithena is a unique type of foam used in sclerotherapy treatment. Unlike other types of sclerotherapy treatment, Varithena uses a special device that gives us more control over the foam. This gives our surgeons the ability to maximize the contact between the vein walls and the foam for more effective results.
VenaSeal
VenaSeal is a cutting-edge adhesive used to close any veins that have become varicosed and problematic. It focuses specifically on the saphenous vein, a large vein located in your thigh. As VenaSeall works, your body treats the closed-up vein as scar tissue and causes it to gradually fade from sight.
To learn more about modern varicose vein treatment, check out our blog How Treatments For Varicose Veins Have Come Lightyears From Your Grandmother’s Day. It’s no longer the dreaded ordeal that it used to be, and they can help you be back on your feet in no time.
Varicose veins can have many causes, but they all result in malfunctioning valves in your veins. When they malfunction, these one-way valves become stuck open, causing blood to pool in your legs and feet rather than be pumped back toward your heart. Multiple treatment options are available, including RFA microphlebectomy, sclerotherapy, Varithena, and VenaSeal to treat your symptoms at their source.
Are you ready to treat your varicose vein symptoms at their source? Call us today at (812) 424-8231 or (800) 264-8231 to schedule your appointment!
Evansville Surgical Associates has been providing comprehensive and compassionate surgical care for over 50 years. Call us at (812) 424-8231 or (800) 264-8231. We are available from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm if you would like to schedule an appointment.
