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Varicose Veins
The veins throughout your body carry blood from the capillaries to your heart. This means the blood has to flow upward against gravity. These leg veins have one-way valves to prevent blood from back flowing but sometimes these valves can fail to close.
This results in what is known as "reflux," a process that allows blood to pool and congests the leg veins with blood. These bulging and twisting veins are called varicose veins.
At Arteries & Veins Centers, we offer a range of minimally invasive procedures to help improve the health and appearence of varicose veins and make legs look better and feel healthier. Dr. Emmanuel Anekwe has many years of experience treating venous insufficiency, the leading cause of varicose veins. Our expert staff strives to inform patients and advise each person on the best treatment options for her or him.
Gone are the days of “vein stripping,” an old school procedure that is highly invasive and very painful. Instead, we offer latest high-tech solutions that can be performed in-office under local anesthesia and require little to no down time. Varicose vein treatments are typically covered by insurance plans as they are considered to be medically necessary.
When and how are varicose veins treated?
Two of the most commonly asked questions about varicose and spider veins are: "Do veins require treatment?" and "What vein treatment is best?"
We offer solutions to your vein treatment or vein removal. Veins are treated for one of two reasons: for symptoms such as pain or for those that are cosmetically unappealing. There are generally two vein treatment options:
Conservative measures such as compression stockings, or corrective vein treatment can occur. Corrective vein care includes: Endovenous Ablation Treatment, Sclerotherapy, and Ambulatory Phlebectomy.
Treatment options for Varicose Veins and Spider Veins
In most cases a combination of these treatments will be utilized:
- VNUS Closure is used to manage venous insufficiency, the most common cause of varicose veins. During this procedure, we use radio-frequency to deliver thermal energy to the vein wall, leading to the vein's obliteration. This replaces vein stripping, an outmoded treatment option.
- ClariVein combines sclerotherapy with manipulation of the interior vein to help decrease the source of venous reflux.
- Varithena uses a specially formulated foamed sclerotherapy agent to obliterate certain leg veins.
- VenaSeal allows us instill a newly FDA released "glue" to seal the saphenous vein, the usual feeder vein that causes varicosities. This new agent shows very good potential for patients but medical insurance companies do not currently cover the treatment.
- Microphlebectomy can be used as a follow-up to the VNUS Closure procedure to diminish larger surface varicose veins.
- “Rethink Varicose Veins” is a national campaign featuring Summer Sanders, an Olympic gold medal-winning swimmer. Sponsored by Covidien, Rethink Varicose Veins encourages both men and women to educate themselves about the risks and symptoms, and to visit a vein specialist for a varicose vein screening.
What results can you expect from Vein Care and Vein Treatment?
With the evaluation and treatment methods available today, varicose veins can be treated at a level of effectiveness and safety previously unattainable. There are many underlying causes of varicose veins, so successful treatment of a particular vein problem does not necessarily prevent vein problems from recurring in the future.
Meet the Doctor
a varicose vein specialist in El Paso, TX and certified by the American Board of Venous and Lymphatic Disease.
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