I started having heavy, achy legs not too long after my ankle sprain last year. I have been diagnosed (via ultrasound) as having CVI for 6 months now. Currently, I manage the pain with stockings, elevation, and exercise. Still, my quality of life suffers greatly. I have heard some horrible stories about being worse off after treatment. Will vein treatment completely help and cure CVI, or it is saved as last resort? Also, how do I ensure I'm not worse off after treatment?
Cure can be obtained only by vein ablation, which is an office procedure.
Published on Jul 11, 2012
With your symptoms and their effect on your daily life, it is advisable to undergo laser vein ablation. If you seek consultation by a board-certified vascular-trained surgeon who specializes in this procedure, you should not have any problems. We have treated thousands safely with excellent outcomes. Left untreated, it may progress and there is an increased chance of clotting as the blood is not flowing correctly. Of course, at your evaluation, your surgeon will ensure you have a patent deep vein system.
Published on Jul 11, 2012
CVI is generally considered an inherited disorder. Therefore, you have really been developing your CVI since you were born. You only just started noticing the symptoms recently, which is not uncommon. Symptoms that develop over time are often viewed as age-related symptoms. Furthermore, since CVI develops over time, it generally takes a while for people to develop enough of it to actually start to compromise their venous circulation to generate symptoms. CVI contrary to what people think, is not cosmetic at all, it is in fact a venous circulatory defect. Any compromise in this venous system due to CVI will eventually give rise to symptoms. You are there. Fixing CVI will never cure you because of the inherited aspect of CVI. However, it will slow down its progression since CVI is a progressive disease. The more you have, the faster it develops. That said, treating CVI does not mean lasering or stripping or injecting one or two veins in the legs. In order to have symptoms, you must have quite a bit of abnormal veins. Proper treatment requires addressing the entire leg in order to repair the circulation. This is when your symptoms will resolve entirely. The problem is most "vein docs" only know how to fix part of the leg (usually 1-2 vessels). They fail to recognize the need to fix the entire leg from inside all the way out to the spider and reticular veins. Choose your doc wisely. Proper treatment for the average person requires months not days.
Published on Jul 11, 2012
You are correct in that treating "CVI" will improve your symptoms and also be preventative.
According to the ACP guidelines, in places like the U.S., where technology exists to treat CVI with EVLT, VNUS, etc., these procedures should be performed in symptomatic venous insufficiency. They don't recommend the use of stockings as a prerequisite to getting these procedures. But in reality, most insurance companies still require patients to try stockings before they are treated.
Published on Jul 11, 2012
See a board-certified vein specialist with years of experience treating patients with CVI and other venous problems. In general, treatment will relieve your symptoms if your veins are the cause of them.
Published on Jul 11, 2012