VeinDirectory - "The Know"

When VNUS Closure Fast was released into the varicose vein treatment market last year, it made headlines all across the United States. It is the most efficient method of treating varicose veins to date and is also a method which is highly effective. Because it reduces the pain and hassle for the patient, it rapidly gained popularity.

It appears from recent headlines that the same popularity is now being seen with the use of VNUS Closure Fast in England. A news report from Nottingham reports that the Queens Medical Centre is happy to be one of the first UK resources for obtaining this procedure.

As with news reports here in the United States (many of which involved doctors in our network), the news report from Nottingham indicates that patients are pleased with the new procedure. This means that it's likely to spread throughout the world with the same ferocity that it spread through the U.S.

Question of the Day: What country do you think will be writing headlines about VNUS Closure Fast next?

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Last month we reported on a really interesting relationship between varicose vein treatment and an entirely different industry: the wool-gathering industry in Australia. To give a little bit of background on the issue, wool-gatherers have been locked in a battle with animal welfare experts because of a practice called mulesing in which strips of wool are removed from around the breach of the sheep.

Animal welfare experts say that the act of mulesing causes pain to the sheep due primarily to the fact that breach clips are used which cut off the sheep's circulation. As anyone with varicose veins knows, it can be really painful when there are circulatory problems going on in the body. People from groups like PETA say that there's no reason to continue this practice when there are alternatives that are not painful which could be implemented in the wool-gathering industry.

One of the alternatives that has been under consideration has been the use of varicose vein treatment procedures done on humans (like sclerotherapy). New reports indicate that PETA believes that this could be an agreeable alternative.

Question of the Day: Is it surprising that human varicose vein treatments are being used on animals?

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When we discuss varicose vein treatment, we are commonly talking about a procedure that is done primariyl for cosmetic reasons. However, there are many good medical reasons to get rid of varicose veins, not the least of which is the pain associated with their presence. One of the major medical concerns related to these veins is deep vein thrombosis, a health problem which can cause a fatal blood clot to form in the body.

This problem is exacerbated in elderly people who have had to get joint replacement surgery (such as hip surgery) and are forced to remain in bed as a result of the surgery. Although it is typical to use compression stockings to reduce the risk of developing varicose veins and greater problems like deep vein thrombosis, it is believed that there needs to be a more active approach to dealing with this ongoing problem.

One doctor has made the suggestion (and many agree) that there needs to be a more balanced and patient-centric approach to prevention and treatment of varicose veins and the use of prophylaxis measures for these types of patients. The idea is that you need to prevent the problems before they are present by reducing risks prior to the surgery. Learn more here.

Question of the Day: Does a preventive approach towards varicose vein treatment make sense?

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People who are interested in learning more about vein treatment can access a variety of different informational sources to gain that education. You can read books, magazine articles, news reports about studies and scientific advances and blogs like this one to get different perspectives about modern vein treatment. One of the types of information that we often neglect, unfortunately, is the medium of the video.

For those people who would like to learn more about vein treatment through video presentations, a good resource to check out is our YouTube video page where there are more than forty different professional videos about vein treatment. Following you'll find three examples of the types of videos that you can find on this site.

Question of the Day: Which of the 40+ vein treatment videos on the site did you find to be most informative?

A press release out today highlights the medical skills of one of the doctors in our network, Dr. Mark Skellenger of Houston. The press release is designed to report on the skills that this doctor has in Endovenous Laser Treatment, a procedure that the majority of doctors in our network use regularly. As noted in the release, Dr. Skellenger is one of only a handful of doctors in the Houston area who is using this advanced new laser technology to treat varicose veins, soemthing that the people in Houston who suffer from this problem are no doubt glad to see!

This particular doctor has completed over seven hundred of these procedures which demonstrates that he has what it takes to successfully use this method of eliminating varicose veins. It also points to the effectiveness of the procedure itself, a procedure which is an increasingly popular alternative to more traditional methods of vein treatment such as sclerotherapy.

If you don't happen to live in the Houston area, you can check our network for another qualified doctor near you.

Question of the Day: Which doctor would you like to give some credit to for efforts in vein treatment?

You're considering getting varicose veins removed but you're a little bit anxious about the procedure. That's to be expected. Going in for any type of medical work causes us some anxiety. To ease that anxiety, you should make sure that you have all of the information that you need to understand the vein treatment that is going to take place.

Some of the questions that you'll want to ask your vein treatment doctor include:

- What are your credentials?
- What is your professional background in treating varicose veins?
- What options are there for varicose vein treatment?
- Which of these options is best for me and why?
- What is your specific experience in performing this vein treatment procedure?
- What are the risks of the procedure?
- What are the risks of not undergoing the procedure?
- What will be the recovery time of the procedure?
- What side effects can be expected?
- What type of follow-up will you do?

By asking a lot of questions, you'll get the information that you need in order to feel comfortable moving forward with treatment. And you'll also get a good sense of whether or not you have a positive rapport with your doctor, something that's just as important to the treatment as the experience of the doctor may be.

Question of the Day: What other questions would you ask in a first visit to a vein treatment doctor?

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There is a great little article available online which profiles a small business which has managed to remain open despite changes in the economy over time. The business is a medical supply store which sells important items such as compression stockings. These are items that patients need but don't always know where to find them; doctors in the area can recommend that they go to this store which will fill all of their niche medical supply needs.

The article is interesting because it points to the fact that the business could have taken a different approach to running its store. It could have opted to also sell side items such as adult magazines in order to boost profits. It didn't, and the business believes that's been the key to its success.

People who are in need of medical equipment don't want to go to just any old place on the corner. Sure, they need to go to a nearby store but they want to retain the feeling that they are working with professionals who are knowledgeable about the medical field. This store has done that by staying true to its original focus as a business selling items like compression stockings.

Question of the Day: Do you think it is the niche focus of this store that allows it to remain in business throughout time?

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We all know what varicose veins are (more or less anyway). Given a lineup, we could pick out the legs that were suffering from varicose veins. But that doesn't mean that we completely understand what it's like to have varicose veins. Following are some of the words that can be used to describe varicose veins and give us a better understanding of what they are like:

UGLY. One of the main things that people dislike about their varicose veins is that they make them feel ugly. They don't wear shorts or skirts because the don't want to show off their veins. They feel self-conscious as a direct results of their varicose veins.

UNSIGHTLY. This is another word that is frequently used to describe how distasteful people feel about the look of their varicose veins.

ROPY. This is a word that describes not only the way that the veins appear but also the way that they feel. Who wants to caress a leg that feels ropy?

PAINFUL. Varicose veins can be painful in many different ways which is something important to recognize if you don't have them yourself.

THROBBING. This is the most common kind of pain that people will describe when discussing what it's like to have varicose veins.

UNCOMFORTABLE: This word pretty much sums up what it's like to live with varicose veins. Both the emotional and physical response that you'll have to them are uncomfortable.

People who don't suffer from varicose veins often don't realize that they can cause so much discomfort. If you're lucky enough to fall into this category, make sure that you engage in good varicose vein prevention in order to avoid ever having to describe your legs this way.

Question of the Day: What other words would accurately describe varicose veins?

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As mentioned yesterday, we're always happy to see the doctors in our network gain attention in the local news. Of course, that means we're really happy to see a report about a great new diode laser vein treatment that is associated with tests done by two different doctors in our network.

The report in BioOptics World discusses a new vein treatment called the biolitec ELVeS PL diode laser which uses an intense laser that has significantly greater absorption by water than lasers currently being used for vein treatment. The short story for patients is that this results in a more efficient, more comfortable experience for the patient who is getting treated for varicose veins.

The article announced that two differe "prominent" doctors in America had reported successful results in testing out the treatment (which has been used in Europe for the last two years). The first doctor is Lowell S. Kabnick who was the founder of the Vein Institute of New Jersey and is now the Director of the New York University Vein Center. The second doctor is Edward Mackay, a vein specialist working in Florida.

Both of these doctors have contributed greatly to vein treatment development over the years. This new procedure could well be the next big thing in venous care and these are the vein surgeons that are leading the way.

Question of the Day: Do you believe that this new laser will replace or supplement the ery popular VNUS Closure Fast procedure?

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We're always happy to see when one of the doctors in our network gets profiled in the local news for the work he's accomplishing. These folks don't do vein treatment in order to get recognition in the community but they're certainly worthy of that recognition when it does come around.

The most recent profile that's cropped up was an article in the Deseret News about Salt Lake City vein treatment doctor Peter Jensen. The article profiles his VNUS Closure work on a particular patient.

The patient was suffering from the pain associated with varicose veins. Jensen used the popular treatment to heal the veins so that she would no longer feel that pain. As a bonus, she also doesn't have to deal with the unsightly appearance of the veins now that they're gone. It's just another simple case of success in the daily work of a vascular surgeon.

Question of the Day: Have you seen any of the doctors in our network profiled in your local news?