Varicose & Spider Veins

We believe it is in your best interest to have a thorough understanding of varicose veins and spider veins, as well as the newest treatments available. We have provided you with easy-to-understand answers to some often-asked questions.

WHO SHOULD TREAT YOUR VEINS?

Veins of any size should be treated by a physician who specializes in veins. This field is known as PHLEBOLOGY. Phlebology, the practice of diagnosis and treatment of veins, focuses on the underlying venous anatomy and physiology before treatment of any kind. Significant venous disease may be present and needs to be corrected before any spider veins are treated. You should be treated by someone who fully understands venous disease and offers comprehensive treatments for veins.

At Vein Institute of Utah, Dr. Hadjbian, specializes in vein disease and offers the most comprehensive clinic dedicated to the most up to date Non-surgical treatments available anywhere.

VENOUS DISEASE HAS DEEP ROOTS:

What you don't know about Venous Disease could hurt you.

What are varicose veins?

Varicose veins are diseased blood vessels that have become permanently dilated (enlarged), and can no longer efficiently carry blood back to the heart.

What causes varicose veins?

There are quite a few causes including heredity, pregnancy, estrogen medications, hormones, prolonged standing or sitting, sedentary lifestyle, and injury to the legs.

Can varicose veins affect my health in a negative way? What if I don't treat them?

Most definitely! Left untreated, varicose veins can cause pain, swelling, inflammation (phlebitis), skin ulcers, spontaneous hemorrhage (bleeding) and blood clots. Vein disease is a CHRONIC AND PROGRESSIVE CONDITION. It only gets worse with time. You should not delay treatment. Protect your circulation.

What are spider veins?

Unsightly and embarrassing spider veins are the tiny relatives of varicose veins. Like varicose veins, spider veins are also caused by heredity, pregnancy, estrogen medications, prolonged standing or sitting, sedentary lifestyle, and injury to the legs. But unlike varicose veins, spider veins are not dangerous and are simply enlarged venules (tiny veins). Together, varicose veins & spider veins affect over half the population by age 55.

Is an evaluation necessary?

When traveling downward to the legs, blood flows easily through the arteries. But when blood flows back up the legs to the heart through the veins, gravity makes this job more difficult. Fortunately, our veins are equipped with one-way valves that fight gravity and direct blood toward the heart. When these valves are healthy, they open and close normally providing blood with a foothold to climb up the leg. When these valves weaken, blood will flow back down the leg. This backwards flow of blood is called "venous reflux". Diseased veins -- from the largest varicose vein to the smallest spider vein -- are usually caused by reflux through weakened valves. Over time, the pressure from this reflux causes the veins on the skin surface to overstretch and bulge. In order for your veins to be treated properly, the exact location of the venous reflux first needs to be identified. This is accomplished by an advanced ultrasound imaging test called a Venous Duplex Scan, which creates a "map" of your veins by pinpointing the location of the damaged valves. This important test is painless, non-invasive, takes about 40-45 minutes to perform, and is covered by Medicare and most health insurance plans. Armed with this information, we can then determine the best treatment plan, estimated cost, and the anticipated outcome.

NON-SUURGICAL TREATMENTS:

VARICOSE VEINS

For those suffering from varicose and spider veins, the problem often originates in the greater saphenous vein (refer to Vein Anatomy picture above) -- the main blood vessel that runs from the ankle to the groin. Tributary veins empty blood into the saphenous vein, which carries blood to the deep veins (those not close to the skin) and ultimately back to the heart. When the valves of the saphenous vein stop functioning, blood backs up into the tributary veins causing them to become varicose. Until recently, your only option was painful vein-stripping surgery performed in the hospital. During this rather unpleasant procedure, the saphenous vein is literally ripped from the groin to ankle. If the pain wasn't enough to scare most people away, the associated risks of general anesthesia, prolonged recovery, potential infection, and unsightly scars surely did. And then there was always the unbelievable expense of this type of surgery. Is it any wonder that so many people refuse treatment? There are now safe, comfortable and cost-effective alternatives.

What is EndoVenous Laser Treatment (Ablation)?

EndoVenous Laser Treatment (Ablation) is an alternative (to surgery) FDA approved 45-minute office procedure to treat varicose veins at the source. It requires only local anesthetic and enables patients to return to normal activity immediately -- with no or minimal pain. EndoVenous Laser Treatment (Ablation) involves first using duplex ultrasound to map out the saphenous vein and then moving a laser fiber through the vein to the groin. The laser then emits highly targeted energy to seal the vein shut. Thermal (Heat) ablation causes contraction and permanent occlusion of the blood vessel being treated, with minimal effects beyond the vessel wall. Ablation of the saphenous vein treats varicose veins without the costs or risks associated with open surgical procedures. For the 15-25% of adults who are affected by varicose veins EndoVenous Laser Treatment means shorter recovery time, greater success rates, no scarring, less cost, and greater convenience. The results are better than surgery. At Vein Institute of Utah, we believe that surgical vein stripping is archaic for 95% of patients. It is cosmetically unacceptable, associated with significant pain and downtime. Now, with Endovenous Laser Ablation you can avoid all of that.

What is Endovenous Foam Treatment^TM?

Endovenous Foam Treatment^TM. With this new procedure, under ultrasound guidance, a slender catheter is inserted into the saphenous vein at the knee through a tiny needle stick in the skin. A special foam medication is then infused into the diseased vein. The foam irritates the lining of the vein causing it to contract and close, allowing blood to be rerouted to healthy veins. The treated vein then becomes harmless fibrous tissue and is gradually absorbed into the body. There is virtually no discomfort afterwards and no downtime.

What is Ultrasound-Guided Sclerotherapy?

This advanced technique is used to eliminate non-saphenous varicose veins that usually require surgery. The key to the success of this treatment comes from using Duplex ultrasound to first locate the leaking deeper veins that are feeding into and causing the surface spider and varicose veins. Duplex ultrasound then helps to accurately guide injections of a strong sclerosing medication into these diseased veins causing them to safely collapse and close. This treatment is one of the most widely used treatments in the country. It is highly effective and has no downtime. In fact, many times this technique has to be used before we treat any spider veins. This is so because sometimes veins under the skin (sub-surface) are what is causing the spider veins and until we address those damaged veins the spider veins will not disappear. Dr. Hadjbian has pioneered this advanced technique as a well as endovenous foam in Utah.

What is Ambulatory Phlebectomy?

This treatment uses tinny incision (1-2mm) to around the large bulging veins to help remove them. This procedure is NOT vein stripping and has no downtime. Patients go back to work or home the same day just like all of our treatments. The cosmetic results are excellent and our patients experience little discomfort. Clinical symptoms resolve after the veins are gone.

SPIDER VEINS

What is Sclerotherapy?

Developed in Europe in the early 1930's, and considered by Phlebologist (Vein Specialists) the "Gold Standard" for spider vein treatments, sclerotherapy eliminates unsightly and embarrassing spider veins of the legs. Using an extremely fine and nearly painless needle, the treatment involves injecting a small amount of a sclerosing solution into the affected veins. This causes the veins to gently dry up and become absorbed by the body's natural healing response. It usually takes 3-5 sessions to provide the most effective results. Treated veins gradually disappear over three to six months. Because blood flow is shifted to healthy veins, sclerotherapy can improve the circulation in the legs. And despite all the advancements in laser technology, sclerotherapy still remains the overwhelming choice of doctors and patients for spider vein treatment. Why? Because it is more effective, less expensive and less painful than any other treatment available.

What is Transilluminated Sclerotherapy^TM

Spider veins can be caused by pressure from blood leaking from connecting reticular veins (superficial blue-green veins). In order to obtain better and longer-lasting results, it is important to locate and treat these superficial feeder veins. The Vein Institute of Utah uses an advanced device called the Veinlite to locate these often hard-to-find veins, and developed a treatment called Transilluminated Sclerotherapy^TM. The Veinlite transilluminates the skin making it translucent so the reticular veins can be easily seen. Sclerotherapy is then used to eliminate these reticular veins, thereby making the treatment of the overlying spider veins more effective.

LASER FOR SPIDER VEINS

Over the past several years, laser technology has advanced and many laser have been developed for the treatment of spider veins. However, it is still not the first choice for this problem. It does work well as an adjunct treatment for spider veins after the larger reticular veins (feeder veins) have been treated with sclerotherapy. To this date topical lasers have never been able to successfully eliminate varicose veins and have not been able to treat spider veins as well as sclerotherapy.

If Venous Reflux Disease, Large Varicose veins and Reticular veins are not treated first:

• You may simply get very unsatisfactory results
• Or, Your spider veins may actually get significantly worse

At Veins Institute of Utah, we want you to see the best results possible, therefore, we use sclerotherapy and transilluminated sclerotherapy as the primary treatment for reticular and spider veins. Sclerotherapy is the "Gold Standard".

We are a provider for most traditional fee-for-service health insurance plans. Please call our office for specific questions about your insurance plan. We offer our patients state-of-the-art non-surgical treatment options for their varicose veins.

If you do not have health insurance, don't worry. You can still enjoy the tremendous benefits of our modern treatment. We have special discounts and we offer affordable payment plans. Our goal is to make our modern vein treatment available to all those who need it.