Varicose
veins are extremely widespread within our population, since
it is estimated that they concern 30 to 50% of women and 20 to 30% of
men. This condition will
be increasingly frequent because of the ageing of the
population and lifestyle changes.
CAUSES OF VARICOSE VEINS
Venous insufficiency is related to
a weakness of the venous wall,
probably hereditary. This weakness
will worsen gradually by factors of risks: jobs
involving prolonged standing positions, putting on weight,
pregnancy, heat, etc…
The venous wall
dilates, causing its valves to separate. As a
result, blood flow reverses. Instead of bringing blood back
to the heart as a normal vein would, a weakened vein allows
blood to become static in the lower extremity. This
backward flow will involve an increase in pressure in the
vein (hypertension). Dilation becomes permanent: it is a
varicose vein. This phenomenon will
extend gradually and, if allowed to continue, will affect an
increasingly wide surface venous network.
SIGNS/SYMPTOMS OF VENOUS DISORDER
•
Aesthetic problem,
sometimes neglected at the beginning of the disease. • Problem of discomfort that
disturb daily activities (feelings of aching,
tiredness) and at night (a percentage of restless legs
syndrome RLS is due to venous insufficiency). • Medical problem with early or
late cutaneous and circulatory complications.
WHAT WE DO:
If you have varicose veins, we perform
a Duplex (color flow)
ultrasound examination to determine the source of the
problem. The advent of ultrasound imaging has taught that
the entire Saphenous vein may not reflux, and rather that a
non-Saphenous, Accessory Saphenous vein may be responsible
for the distal venous hypertension. A vascular surgeon in
Nice, France has refuted the principle of Saphenous ablation
by taking away the varicose tributaries to the Saphenous
vein thus decreasing its reflux flow and allowing the vein
to decrease in diameter and regain competence. He observed
that Saphenous vein reflux disappeared after correction of
superficial vein reflux, with associated
functional and aesthetic benefits.
Next, we inject a drug that sensitizes the inner vein walls
causing the vein to collapse in on itself. The patient’s
body eventually absorbs the shrunken vein.
If you have telangiectasias (aka spider veins), we look for
the source and treat the underlying reticular veins. If the
source is not treated, the spider veins will soon return.
For select cases of telangiectasias of the face and legs, we
use a laser that has a patented cryogen cooling system that
anesthetizes the skin before, during, and after treatment.
WHY OUR TECHNIQUES ARE
SUPERIOR:
For a very long time, the
methods of treatment of the varicose veins evolved little.
The aggressiveness of the
surgical treatment (size
of scars, duration to resume normal activities, etc)
and the frequency of recurrence very often discouraged the
patients. Later,
electromagnetic energy (endovenous laser and radiofrequency)
was used as a means of taking saphenous veins out of the
circulation. Unfortunately, since energy can radiate outside
the vein wall, cases of nerve damage were reported. In
addition, reports of recurrent varices in ~30% of these
cases are making some physicians look to alternatives in
treating varicose veins.
Our medical treatment of
varicose veins involves innovative techniques,
and our objectives are to be
preventative, less aggressive and more precise.
This now makes it possible
for the patients to be better treated, earlier, and with a
better follow-up care.
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