Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Friday, December 24, 2010
Varicose Veins Treatment - Learn About Endovenous Procedures
According to the Society of Interventional Radiology, approximately half of the U.S. population has venous disease – 50 to 55% of women and 40 to 45% of men. Of these, 20 to 25% of the women and 10 to 15% of men will have visible varicose veins. Venous disease or venous reflux refers to the pooling of blood in our leg veins causing them to become varicose veins. This occurs due to faulty one-way vein valves that have the role of sending blood to the heart against the force of gravitational attraction. Symptoms of Venous reflux include leg fatigue, ankle swelling, throbbing, itching, leg restlessness, ultimately leading to varicose veins and possibly venous ulceration.
Varicose veins should not be viewed as strictly "cosmetic" issue, because eventually the pain and swelling associated with them could alter the activities of daily living. Millions of Americans affected by varicose veins are unaware of the potentially dangerous side of untreated venous reflux, the underlying cause of varicose veins.
A Duplex Ultrasound, a painless imaging technique used by doctors and technicians is sufficient to diagnose venous reflux and indicate whether the blood flow of the vein is going the wrong way and varicose veins treatment is medically necessary. It’s imperative that anyone with bulging veins gets an Ultrasound by a vein specialist. Fortunately, nowadays varicose veins can be treated with non-surgical, minimally invasive endovenous ablation technologies, such as the VNUS closure procedure and Endovenous Laser Treatment,EVLT, covered by most insurance plans and Medicare, in case the treatment is medically necessary.
Endovenous procedures involve the use of Ultrasound Imaging and thermal ablation of veins by means of a heat generating catheter or a laser fiber that is inserted in the varicose vein, usually near the knee, and guided to the source of venous reflux. The heat generated when pulses of energy are supplied by the inserted probes collapses the varicose vein. This halts the formation of future varicosities and results in complete vessel closure. With blood flow to the varicose vein interrupted, the pooling and bulging will begin to subside immediately as the blood circulation redirects itself to healthy veins. A treatment session takes less than 30 minutes with only the use of local anesthesia. Patients walk away the clinic to resume their normal activities.
More information about the treatment of varicose veins by endovenous ablation is available at http://www.nuvelaesthetica.com
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