What are Varicose Veins?
Varicose veins are enlarged, weakened, dilated veins that no longer carry blood from the legs back up to the heart in an effective manner against gravity. This is secondary to the failure of the valve system (valvular incompetence) in the veins, which normally would allow blood to only flow back to the heart. Now the blood and pressure (venous hypertension) builds up from the effect of gravity. Varicose veins commonly cause many symptoms in the legs including tiredness, fatigue, heaviness, aching, throbbing, itching, burning, and swelling. These symptoms are typically worse at the end of the day but get better with rest or elevation of the legs. Effective treatment of these diseased veins usually eliminates the symptoms. If left untreated, however, varicose veins always worsen over time and may lead to significant complications, such as clot, skin inflammation and even venous ulceration in later stages of disease. It is important not to ignore the presence of varicose veins and symptoms of venous hypertension in order to prevent the long term complications of the disease.

What causes Varicose Veins?
Several factors contribute to the development of varicose veins. The most important but unalterable factor is genetics. A genetic tendency causes veins to weaken and wear out over time. The greater this genetic tendency, the sooner it will happen. Other contributing factors include pregnancy, obesity, estrogen/progesterone containing medications, and previous blood clots. In most cases, nothing can be done to prevent the development of the condition, but if effective treatment is given early in the course of the disease, complications like phlebitis, blood clots and ulcerations can be prevented and symptoms relieved.

How are Varicose Veins treated?
New developments and physician expertise have revolutionized the treatment of venous disease. Most of these new modalities are non-invasive, performed in the office under local anesthesia with immediate recovery and no down time for patients. Duplex ultrasound plays a critical role in diagnosing the problem so that your physician can customize treatment appropriate to you.

Conservative Therapy
Compression stockings help to alleviate the swelling and pain caused by varicose veins. However, they do not treat the underlying condition. The compression stockings have to be worn indefinitely, whenever the leg is not elevated. Conservative treatment is usually reserved for those patients too weak or sick to undergo definitive treatment. However, some insurance companies are now requiring patients to wear prescription-strength compression stockings for 3-6 months before they will consider reimbursement for treatment. This does not treat the valvular incompetence and is aimed at controlling symptoms rather than curing the disease.