Treating varicose veins is more than vanity

Susan Locke writes that most insurance plans will cover varicose vein treatment . . .

Dr. Susan Locke

Warmer weather is upon us and that means short pants, skirts and swimsuits. Many fret about the appearance of their legs because of spider or varicose veins.

Varicose veins are swollen veins that most commonly occur in the legs and feet. They often look blue, bulging and twisted. In the United States, 25% of women have varicose veins; one in ten men has this condition as well. Spider veins are similar, but they’re smaller and more superficial.

Crossing your legs will not cause this condition, but how long you sit or stand is more likely to be an issue. One of the biggest mistakes people make is putting off treatment. Varicose veins are a medical condition and treatments are often covered by insurance.

When you’re upright, the blood in your legs must work against gravity to return to the heart. Your leg muscles contract and act as pumps. Tiny valves in your veins open and allow blood to flow back in the direction of the heart. When your leg muscles relax, the valves close. As you age, your veins lose elasticity, causing them to stretch and your valves to become weaker. As a result, blood doesn’t flow well back to the heart and can pool in your veins. Veins appear blue because they contain deoxygenated blood.

Risk factors include age and sitting or standing for long periods of time. Women are at risk during pregnancy when hormones tend to relax vein walls. Birth control pills and hormone replacement therapy also increase the risk.

Nonsurgical treatments include lifestyle changes such as exercising, losing weight, elevating legs, avoiding long periods of sitting or standing, wearing low-heeled shoes, and not wearing clothes that are tight around the waist, legs or groin. Although these do not cure varicose veins, they can reduce pain and prevent the condition from worsening.

Compression stockings are recommended. Wear them all day long. It’s important that they fit correctly, which means taking accurate measurements before ordering the stockings.

Surgical treatments include ablation therapy. There are three types. Chemical ablation (sclerotherapy) can be used for small varicose or spider veins. In this outpatient procedure, the veins are injected with an irritant solution that scars and closes the vein. In a few weeks the treated varicose vein should fade, although the same vein may need to be injected more than once.

Thermal ablation destroys the veins by heat, which can be done by laser surgery or endovenous laser procedure. Mechanical ablation or vein stripping is a procedure which involves removing a large varicose vein through small incisions. This is usually an outpatient procedure.

SUSAN LOCKE, MD, is Healthnetwork Foundation’s medical director.

HEALTHNETWORK is a Legatus membership benefit, a healthcare “concierge service” that provides members and their families access to some of the most respected hospitals in the world. One Call Starts It All: (866) 968-2467 or (440) 893-0830. Email: [email protected]