Vein Care - Understanding Varicose Veins

Our team of vein experts provides comprehensive vein care, examining your leg veins and performing ultrasound diagnostic tests to curate a personalized vein treatment plan just for you. Vein Care Center explain all of the options and costs in plain language and help you secure pre-certification from your insurance provider, if needed.

Varicose veins occur when the small valves inside a healthy vein stop working properly, allowing blood to flow backward and collect in the vein. Over time, the vein becomes swollen and enlarged, producing the characteristic blue/purple color of varicose veins. Varicose veins can be uncomfortable or painful and may lead to more serious problems if not treated.

The most conservative approach is wearing compression stockings, which create gentle pressure in the legs, keeping blood from pooling in the veins and helping with pain and swelling. These stockings are available in a variety of styles, including above-the-knee and pantyhose. Other preventive measures include wearing lower heels and not standing or sitting for long periods of time, not smoking, losing weight, exercising regularly, and elevating your legs when resting.

If these preventive measures don’t ease your symptoms, you may need more aggressive treatments for varicose veins. These may include laser therapy, radiofrequency ablation, or sclerotherapy. The procedure is done on an outpatient basis and requires local anesthesia.

During this minimally invasive procedure, your doctor inserts a catheter into the diseased vein and delivers energy in short bursts to the vein walls. This heats the wall, causing it to close. Blood naturally reroutes through other healthy veins in the area, and the closed vein is eventually absorbed by the body.

For large varicose veins, your doctor might recommend a surgical procedure called ambulatory phlebectomy or endoscopic sclerotherapy. In this surgery, your doctor makes tiny punctures in the affected vein and then removes the diseased varicose vein through these holes. It is a minimally invasive procedure with low post-surgical discomfort, and bruising and bleeding are usually mild.

The most severe and potentially life-threatening complication of varicose veins is DVT, or deep vein thrombosis. This occurs when a blood clot forms in the vein of the leg or pelvis and then travels to the lung, where it can cause severe heart and pulmonary issues. DVT can also cause chronic pain, swelling and tenderness in the leg.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recommends you talk to a health care provider about varicose veins if they cause pain, itchiness or other symptoms. Your health care provider will do a physical exam, including looking at your legs while you are standing and checking for swelling. They will ask you to describe your symptoms and how they affect your daily activities. They may recommend a test to measure the blood flow in your veins, such as a Doppler ultrasound of your leg. A Doppler ultrasound uses sound waves to see how your veins are functioning and can detect a blood clot. They might also suggest an imaging test, such as a computed tomography (CT) scan or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). These tests use X-rays and other techniques to examine your veins and find out what caused your varicose veins.