Chronic Venous Insufficiency

Chronic venous insufficiency is a clinical syndrome of pain, swelling, heaviness, and skin changes in the lower legs caused by malfunctioning valves in the leg veins that drain the skin. Blood moves from the feet up to the heart through a series of veins that have one-way valves allowing blood to move against gravity. The valves should snap back as blood moves through them within ½ second. The main vein that drains the skin is called the Greater Saphenous Vein. 

If the Greater Saphenous Vein is not functioning normally, is dilated, and has bad valves, the vein becomes not only useless, but detrimental. This diagnosis can only be made by ultrasound of the leg veins by a certified vein specialist. The treatment for the poorly functioning vein is venous ablation or closure of the bad vein thus causing  blood to find alternate routes through normal functioning veins. There are thousands of miles of arteries and veins so finding alternate routes is not an issue. If the bad vein remains, pressure builds, especially when you are on your feet causing swelling, pain, night-time cramping, heaviness, and ulcerations. It may also burst red blood cells leaving behind iron that stains the skin causing the skin to thicken and discolor. In days past, the vein might be stripped out surgically, however that is rarely done today because of more advanced medical treatments. 

Treatment of the vein is as simple as starting an IV. In fact, that is what we do. An IV is started in the vein we are treating  and we administer a medication that causes the vein to shrivel up and go away. Blood is then shunted to the good veins. The procedure usually takes less than 15 minutes. Some cases may require laser but this usually only adds a few more minutes to the treatment time.

98% of our patients say they feel remarkable improvement within a few weeks of the procedure. The risk of the procedure is not zero but close. A blood clot could occur but in our clinic we see that about 1 in 500 patients and are treated with a blood thinner for a few months. Most patients will require 4 separate treatments because of FDA guidelines. The leg will be wrapped with an ace wrap for 24 to 48 hours following the procedure then can be removed. We encourage walking and you may return to work the same day. No sedation is used so you may drive after the procedure. We do followup ultrasounds each time you have a procedure done and a complete ultrasound one month after all procedures are finished to make sure the vein treated is closed.