MANILA, Philippines?Inuugat na pala ang binti mo, ang sagwa!?
About four out of 10 women and almost two out of 10 men suffer from varicose veins. Varicose veins usually manifest as leg heaviness, leg pain and visible spider veins or bulging veins. What causes these unsightly bulging, twisting veins in the legs?
Dr. Martin Villa, head of the Varicose Vein Unit at St. Luke?s Medical Center, explains: Normally, valves in the leg veins prevent blood flowing from the leg to the heart from flowing backward. If the valves don?t close properly, blood pools in the vein, forcing its walls to enlarge and bulge out. This is called reflux disease of the vein, one of the more common causes of varicose veins of the leg.
Surgery
In managing varicose veins of the legs, doctors focus on treating the reflux disease, says Dr. Villa, who completed his Vascular Surgery Residency Training at The University of Texas-Houston Health Science Center in the United States. ?Surgery is the traditional treatment involving the stripping and ligation of the major superficial leg vein. This invasive procedure is performed under general anesthesia and requires hospitalization.?
Varicose veins definitely cause major self-esteem problems, but are you willing to go under the knife to eliminate them? Fortunately, you no longer have to make that difficult choice. The Varicose Vein Unit at St. Luke?s Medical Center offers an effective nonsurgical, painless and no-scar treatment for varicose veins.
?Endovenous laser therapy or EVLT uses a targeted laser fired along and inside the varicose veins,? explains Dr. Villa. ?EVLT takes less than an hour in the Varicose Vein Unit and is done under local anesthesia.?
Ultrasound study
The patient first undergoes a thorough clinical evaluation supplemented by an ultrasound study of the legs to identify the cause of the varicose veins. Once reflux disease of the superficial veins of the leg(s) is definitively diagnosed, EVLT can be considered. ?The patient should provide the doctor with a list of his or her current medications like aspirin, vitamins and herbal supplements,? Dr. Villa says.
In EVLT, the doctor uses ultrasound to map out the patient?s vein and applies local anesthesia to the area to be treated. A thin laser fiber is inserted through a tiny entry point, usually near the knee. Laser energy is then delivered to seal off the faulty vein, thereby eliminating the cause of bulging. The doctor may take photographs of the affected area for before and after assessments.
Additional procedures
?EVLT offers immediate relief of symptoms with very low risk of postoperative pain and infection,? Dr. Villa says. The procedure does not interfere with normal blood circulation, so your legs remain healthy and fully functional. Pressure bandages are applied to the treated area and a 20-minute walk immediately after the procedure is encouraged, he explains.
Patients may experience minor soreness and bruising after the procedure. However, any discomfort can be easily treated with over-the-counter, non-aspirin pain relievers as needed. Patients can resume normal activities immediately after the therapy. However, they should avoid rigorous activities such as heavy lifting or squatting.
Depending on the extensiveness of the varicose veins, additional procedures such as microphlebectomy, sclerotherapy and superficial laser treatment may be needed to completely treat residual varicosities, Dr. Villa says. These supplemental procedures can be done as an outpatient procedure under local anesthesia.
The St. Luke?s Varicose Vein Unit is a hospital-based unit that offers a complete range of evidence-based treatments for lower extremity varicose veins, such as office-based EVLT, microphlebectomy, transluminated sclerotherapy and superficial laser therapy. For inquiries, please contact the Varcicose Vein Unit at 723 0301 ext. 5207 or 0922 837 8399.
Angelo Palmones is a science and technology broadcaster. For feedback, please e-mail the Healthcare Technology and Outcomes Information Bureau at inquire@htoib.com.
