VARICOSE VEINS

What you need to know about risk factors, symptoms and the new no surgical treatment with...

Endovenous Laser&Foam Sclerotherapy

What are varicose veins?
Varicose veins are the large, visible and bulging leg veins, felt under the skin. They develop due to weakness of the vein wall and because the valves no longer work. Under the pressure of gravity, these veins can continue to expand and in time, they may become longer, twisty, pouched, thickened and painful.

Who is at risk?
The most important risk factors leading to the development of varicose veins include heredity, prolonged standing (or sitting), increasing age, warm climate, heavy lifting, obesity, prior blood clots in superficial or deep veins, female gender and multiple pregnancies.
What are the signs and symptoms of varicose veins?
Varicose veins may be entirely symptom-free and cause no immediate health problems. Treatment in such cases is usually considered cosmetic. When symptoms are present the most common are ankle and leg swelling, heaviness and fullness, aching, restlessness, fatigue, pain, cramps and itching. If you experience any of these symptoms contact us. Do not ignore leg pains!
What are the causes of varicose veins?
Our veins return blood from the arms and legs to the heart. Because veins work against the force of gravity in legs, they have valves that allow forward blood flow, but not reverse. Contraction (squeezing) of the leg muscles pumps the blood towards the heart while the valves in the veins prevent backflow towars the feet. If these valves lose their function, the blood leaks (reflux) toward feet accumulates in thin-walled superficial veins causing them to enlarge and become what we call "varicose veins".

How are varicose veins diagnosed?
Varicose veins are generally seen during the physical examination with naked eye since they are close to the skin surface. However, the veins with nonfunctioning valves that create varicose veins are generally more deeply located, and thus can not be seen without special instruments. These veins can be readily seen with a color or duplex Doppler ultrasound machine. Ultrasound examination however, must be performed by an experienced radiologist, preferably by the one who will also perform the treatment.

What are the causes of varicose veins?
The modern treatment of varicose veins include treatment of both the cause (leaking veins) and result (varicose veins themselves). Naturally, the "cause" should be treated before the "result", otherwise the treatment will fail and the varicose veins recur. For both treatments, we have today much more options than we had a decade ago.

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