Venous disease is any disease that affects the veins in the body, which are responsible for carrying blood to the heart. Most often, blood flows seamlessly through the veins, but sometimes, blood flow is disrupted by damage or disease.
When that happens, you need specialized medical care to get the blood flowing normally again. You can find that care at Northeast Georgia Physicians Group (NGPG) Vascular Center.
What are the different types of venous disease?
We provide outpatient procedures at the NGPG Vascular Center to treat the three most common forms of venous disease:
- Chronic venous insufficiency, which occurs when valves in the leg veins malfunction, keeping blood from flowing to the heart
- Spider veins, which are small clusters of damaged veins visible through the skin
- Varicose veins, which are enlarged, tangled veins close to the surface of the skin
Other forms of venous disease include arteriovenous fistulas, blood clots, deep vein thrombosis, superficial thrombophlebitis and venous ulcers.
What causes venous disease?
Many different factors can cause venous diseases, including injury, high blood pressure and anatomical issues with how the veins were formed. Vein walls can also be weakened due to pregnancy, aging or abnormal growths such as tumors or cysts.
Even prolonged sitting or exposure to the sun can contribute to some vein problems, such as spider veins or varicose veins.
What are the symptoms of venous disease?
Each type of venous disease causes some unique symptoms, though many symptoms overlap.
Chronic venous insufficiency symptoms may include:
- Achy or fatigued legs
- Burning or tingling sensation
- Cramping
- Discolored skin
- Flaking or itchy skin
- Fullness or heaviness in the legs
- Open sores near the ankles
- Swelling in the lower legs and ankles, particularly after standing for an extended period of time
- Varicose veins
In many cases, spider veins don’t cause symptoms, but some people may experience these symptoms affecting the legs:
- Burning
- Cramping
- Fatigue
- Itching
- Pain
Varicose veins have a distinctive appearance, most often causing a blue or purplish vein right under the skin. Other symptoms may include:
- Bulging veins
- Heaviness
- Itching
- Pain
- Skin discoloration
- Swelling
While varicose veins most often develop on the calves, ankles or feet, they can also affect the pelvis.
How is venous disease diagnosed?
If you’re experiencing symptoms of a vein condition, a medical provider can make an initial diagnosis based on a physical exam. Certain tests may be used to confirm a diagnosis:
- Angiogram
- Ankle-brachial index, which compares blood pressure in the legs with blood pressure in the arms
- CT scans
- Intravascular ultrasound
- MRI
- Ultrasound
These tests offer a vascular specialist a look at how well blood is flowing in your veins. This can help confirm a diagnosis and determine the severity of disease.
How is venous disease treated?
Based on your diagnosis, an NGPG vascular specialist will create a treatment plan that meets your specific needs. In many cases, treatment for venous disease includes lifestyle changes, such as smoking cessation, along with the use of compression stockings and elevation.
When these therapies don’t fully alleviate vein conditions, additional treatment may be needed. We offer several outpatient procedures to treat venous disease at NGPG Vascular Center:
Phlebectomy
During this procedure, which takes approximately 45 minutes to an hour, diseased veins are removed through small incisions in the skin. Phlebectomy is used to treat large veins located close to the skin or bulging above the skin’s surface.
Radiofrequency ablation
This procedure, which takes approximately one hour, uses high-frequency sound waves to apply heat to a diseased vein, closing off the vein. Radiofrequency ablation is used to treat varicose veins or chronic venous insufficiency, a more serious vein disease that can cause varicose veins. Learn more about radiofrequency ablation.
Sclerotherapy
During this procedure, which takes approximately 30 minutes, a solution is injected directly into a diseased vein, causing it to collapse. Sclerotherapy is used to treat spider veins and small varicose veins.
If these minimally invasive procedures don’t effectively treat a venous disease, a vascular surgery procedure such as vein ligation may be needed. Our vascular specialists can guide you to the treatment option that will work best for your needs.
Choose NGPG for vein treatment
At NGPG Vascular Center, we strive to make it easy and convenient to access care for venous disease, including varicose veins. In many cases, we are able to treat these vein conditions on an outpatient basis in our state-of-the-art facilities.
These minimally invasive vein procedures provide patients with many benefits, including a quicker recovery and a reduced risk of complications. Because sclerotherapy often isn’t covered by medical insurance, NGPG’s self-pay cost is $350 which includes the procedure with 3 syringes of treatment.