Category Archives: Vein Treatment

Why See a Vein Specialist?

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Finding the best professional help for vein disease can dramatically improve your quality of life.  Primary care physicians or other medical practitioners who do not specialize in the treatment of vein disease typically do not have the training and technology necessary to accurately assess vein disease.  For this reason, it is highly recommended that you seek the care of a vein specialist if you have or have had any of the following conditions:

  • Pain, discomfort, tiredness, or swelling in your legs and feet (common symptoms of chronic venous insufficiency, or CVI)
  • Vein-related wounds (venous stasis ulcerations)
  • Varicose veins
  • Blood-clot complications or hemorrhaging of your leg veins

Cosmetic and Medical Benefits
Many patients with spider veins seek treatment primarily for cosmetic reasons.  Unsightly spider veins can cause feelings of embarrassment and self-consciousness. Women are especially prone to hiding their legs and feet with heavy clothing during the hot, summer months to avoid revealing their spider veins in shorts, skirts, and sandals.  This solution is not only uncomfortable, but it also has a negative impact on one’s quality of life.

If the unsightliness of veins in your legs and feet are limiting your lifestyle and damaging your self-esteem, then the cosmetic issue also becomes a substantial health issue.  Treatments for spider and varicose veins typically provide both cosmetic and medical benefits, improving aesthetic appeal and reducing vein-related medical symptoms.

Early Intervention
Leg-vein disease is progressive and can lead to serious future problems if left untreated.  Even if your symptoms are mild and non-debilitating now, you may develop an increased risk of blood-clot complications, including superficial phlebitis and the more serious deep vein thrombosis (DVT).  Early intervention of leg-vein conditions can slow the progression of disease and can also reduce the number of treatments required.

Modern vein treatment techniques address the root causes of vein disease, providing comprehensive and lasting results.  With advances in technology, there is no reason to postpone treatment and allow a minor cosmetic problem to grow into a major medical issue. A trained and experienced vein specialist can provide you with a thorough assessment and treatment options now so that you don’t have to worry about the consequences later.

Selecting Your Vein Specialist
Advances in vein medicine have started to become more widely known and appreciated.  Because of this, there has been an increase in the number of doctors attempting to add vein treatments as one aspect of their practices.  Please be aware, however, that just because vein treatment services are offered does not mean that the doctor is a specialist.  When seeking professional medical care for your vein conditions, please carefully consider the experience and dedication of your physician.

Dr. William Goldstein at Midwest Vein Care has more than 20 years of experience treating varicose and spider veins and is Board Certified in Plebology – the art and science of assessing and treating vein disease.  MVC utilizes state-of-the-art technology and techniques to offer surgical and non-surgical vein procedures.

We understand the importance of self-improvement and are committed to providing the safest and most effective vein and skin care treatments available in St. Louis.

Call Midwest Vein Care today
 to schedule a FREE vein consultation.
 636.536.0241

Do You Have Chronic Venous Insufficiency (CVI)?

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Chronic Venous Insufficiency (CVI) is an abnormal flow of blood through the veins.
How do you know if you have CVI? Watch out for these SEVEN WARNING SIGNS:

1. Do You See Spider or Varicose Veins?
Spider veins and varicose veins are usually visible to the naked eye. Are your veins reddish or purple? Are they bulging? If so, this could indicate abnormal blood flow.

2. Do You Regularly Experience Leg Pain or Discomfort?
Chronic Venous Insufficiency causes the following symptoms—especially after prolonged standing or sitting:

  • Aching
  • Heaviness
  • Throbbing
  • Burning
  • Itching
  • Cramping
  • Tingling
  • Stinging
  • Numbness

If you frequently experience one or more of these symptoms, you should consult a vein specialist.

3. Do You Have Swollen Legs or Ankles?
CVI can cause swelling in the legs and ankles after prolonged sitting or standing. Aggravation often occurs later in the day. There are multiple health issues that cause the swelling of legs and ankles, but you should consult a vein specialist to rule out the possibility of Chronic Vein Insufficiency.

4. Are Your Legs Restless or Cramping?
If you have uncomfortable tingling sensations in your legs, especially late in the evening or upon going to bed, it could be caused by CVI. Patients who suffer from Chronic Venous Insufficiency are often compelled to move their legs, finding their legs uncomfortable at rest.

A correlation between restless legs syndrome (RLS) and CVI is not yet firmly established, but some research has tied them together. You may consider having a comprehensive vein screening at Midwest Vein Care before you begin taking medicines for RLS.

5. Do Your Legs Feel Tired or Heavy?
CVI can cause sudden fatigue in the legs after small amounts of activity or after standing for only a few minutes. The fatigue caused by CVI is often coupled with an overall lack of energy.

6. Do You See Discoloration and Scaring of the Skin on Your Legs?
If you have rashes, redness, or inflammation, especially around the lower legs and ankles, you may actually have venous stasis dermatitis. Untreated vein disease can turn into hyperpigmentation that causes brown or dark stains on your legs. A more serious condition is lipodermatosclerosis, characterized by the skin and soft tissue around the lower legs and ankles scaring so severely that skin looks and feels like leather.

The sooner you receive treatment for Chronic Vein Insufficiency the better.
At Midwest Vein Care, we can spot and treat vein disease before it worsens.

7. Do You Have Open Sores or Ulcers on Your Lower Legs or Ankles?
Severe CVI that is left untreated for a prolonged time can lead to open wounds known as venous stasis ulcers. Venous stasis ulcers can be slow to heal, sometimes taking months or even years.

For more information on Chronic Venous Insufficiency
or to schedule a consultation with a vein specialist, contact Midwest Vein Care today.

Sclerotherapy Treatment for Spider Veins

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Sclerotherapy is a safe and effective treatment option for patients
who suffer from painful and unsightly vein issues.

How Does Sclerotherapy Treatment Work?
Sclerotherapy treatment has three steps to its process.

  1. The skin is first sterilized to allow tiny needles to inject sclerotherapy medication. The medication is injected into the spider veins found on the surface of your skin.
  2. A heavier, more concentrated foam version of sclerotherapy medication is injected into the underlying green veins that feed spider veins.
  3. A transilluminating vein light is used to further locate veins on the skin’s surface. Skin and fat layers glow orange under the vein light while the underlying feeding green veins show up as contrasting dark lines.

How Long Does Treatment Take?
Treatment time depends on the patient’s specifics needs, but on average, it takes fifteen to thirty minutes to perform a sclerotherapy treatment. Some treatments can take up to an hour.

How Will Sclerotherapy Affect Me?
It’s generally expected that 70 percent of abnormal veins will be cleared away after each treatment. Multiple factors can contribute to how sclerotherapy treatments will affect you personally, including the severity of your vein disease, your age, and your state of health.

How Many Treatments Will It Take?
Three to six treatments are typically required to remove spider veins. Each treatment builds on the last. If you’re older in age and have allowed spider veins to increase over the years, you’ll likely need more treatments than a patient who is only beginning to see signs of spider veins. Severity of disease and your state of health also help determine the number of treatments you’ll need.

The ideal time between treatment sessions is four to eight weeks. It’s important that your body has time to re-route the flow of blood to healthy veins. Also during this time, stress will be relieved from the vein system and any bruising or inflammation will have sufficient time to clear.

When Will I See the Effects?
Patients usually notice about a 90 percent clearing of spider veins after three sclerotherapy sessions. Three further treatments can increase the benefit to 98 percent. These percentages also apply to those with severe spider vein issues.

Can I Just Have the Smaller Veins Removed?
Many patients think they’ll save time and discomfort by getting only some of their veins removed, but removing small veins before removing the largest veins will only cause the smaller veins to return.  Improper sequence of vein removal can actually worsen the issue in some situations.  Unfortunately, many doctors do not heed this recommendation.  An experienced and credible vein specialist will treat the source of your spider veins to minimize any risk of the problem returning.

If you would like to learn more about sclerotherapy treatments
call Midwest Vein Care to schedule a consultation.