Your grandmother had them. Then they passed on to your mother. Now you have them. We aren’t talking about a precious family heirloom or a wedding dress. We are talking about a very real disease that causes debilitating leg cramps, disfiguring veins that are painful and occasionally bleed, and severe leg swelling that prevents you from fitting into your favorite shoes by the afternoon. In particularly bad cases, severe ulcers can form on the legs that can lead to amputation. And men can get them too!
Varicose veins are the result of years of untreated venous disease. Arteries carry blood from the heart to the rest of the body, while veins carry that blood back to the heart. At any given time, nearly 80% of the blood in the body is found in the veins. Years of being on one’s feet can lead to the buildup of high pressure within the veins of the legs, causing them to dilate and the valves inside of them to malfunction. The result is congestion of blood within the legs, causing the veins near the surface of the skin to swell up and become painful and inflamed.
This underlying malfunction of the leg veins is called venous insufficiency, and it can lead to leg cramps, ankle swelling and varicose veins. The veins can become so unsightly that most people stop wearing shorts or bathing suits, thereby adversely affecting their quality of life, according to Dr. Sapan Desai, director of the SIU Vein Center. Dr. Desai is a vascular surgeon who specializes in minimally invasice vascular surgery and open vascular procedures.
Thanks to recent advances in treating venous disease, it is now possible to use minimally invasive procedures to remove the diseased vein from the inside through a tiny cut in the skin near the knee. This procedure is called ablating the great saphenous vein; it usually takes no more than 30 minutes to perform. “The pain is so little and recovery so fast that patients go home the same day and can be back at work within a day or two,” Dr. Desai says. “The improvement in quality of life is excellent for most patients, and the cosmetic outcomes from this procedure alone can make it possible to return to spring dresses and summer shorts.”
Most insurance programs will cover this procedure, especially if you have pain or debilitating swelling. You can see a specially trained vascular surgeon to provide comprehensive care for your legs. We can help get your legs back in shape and get you back into your favorite shoes.
The SIU Vein Center specializes in all aspects of cosmetic and functional vein surgery and has convenient weekday and weekend hours and appointments are available for new patients. If you would like to find out more about how SIU physicians can help your varicose veins, call 217-545-8000 to schedule your visit today.