MANILA, Philippines - For most people, especially women, varicose veins and spider veins are a top dermatologic concern. Besides inhibiting them from wearing shorts and skirts, they also cause pain and discomfort that disrupt their daily activities. Whether it’s for aesthetic or health reasons, these unsightly veins should not be taken lightly as they may result in more serious health implications.
Varicose veins are enlarged veins that appear as twisting, bulging rope-like cords commonly found at the back of the calves or the inside of the leg. Reticular veins and spider veins are similar to varicose veins but are smaller, flatter, and red or purple in color, and appear closer to the skin surface. These abnormal veins develop when the valves of the veins, which are responsible for the efficient flow of blood back to the heart, fail to close properly, allowing blood that should be moving towards the heart to flow backward. Blood collects in the lower veins, causing them to enlarge and bulge.
If your parents and grandparents had this venous problem, you are most likely at risk. Aging is also a risk factor as the tissue of the vein walls loses elasticity, causing the valve system to fail. Women are also more prone due to hormones and pregnancy. Aggravating factors include prolonged standing or sitting and inactivity, which cause increased volume and pressure of blood in the lower limbs due to the effects of gravity.
There are some people who let their varicose veins be. So, is it okay not to treat them? According to Dr. Paul Jesus Montemayor, vascular surgeon from Asian Hospital and Medical Center, “Most spider veins are nothing more than a cosmetic nuisance. If you’re not in pain or not concerned about how you look, it’s okay not to have them treated. But spider or varicose veins that come with symptoms like leg pain, cramps, fatigue, heaviness, swelling or restlessness, should be treated as they may progress to chronic venous insufficiency or CVI, which may result in eczema, pigmentation, ulceration, and bleeding.”
A consultation with a vein disease specialist is vital to determine the treatment or combination of treatments that suits a patient. During consultation, the patient undergoes an ultrasound to specifically locate the leaking veins and provide a specific treatment.
For those who don’t want to undergo complicated procedures to treat spider veins, they may be advised to wear graduated compression stockings, which prevent increased pressure of blood, or sclerotherapy, which entails injecting medicines directly into the veins to close them. These methods may not get rid of the varicose veins but relieve pain and discomfort.
For progressive varicose veins, traditional surgery is offered, which involves ligation or stripping to remove the main superficial vein and phlebectomy, to remove squirmy branch veins through multiple small incisions. Cosmetically, these methods may not be acceptable to some people, as they produce a lot of scars.
Asian Hospital offers a minimally invasive approach to remove varicose veins. Transilluminated Vein Excision or TRIVEX targets a whole nest of diseased veins by only one or two incisions. A two-mm. cut is initially made to pass an instrument which lights up the affected area so the surgeon can see the veins through the skin, while another two-mm. cut is made to pass a suction instrument that destroys the diseased veins, then extracts it from the body.
Explains Dr. Montemayor, “TRIVEX offers better cosmetic results with fewer cuts and consequently less scarring. It is a more accurate, safer, and faster procedure entailing less operating time. Patients will find it more suitable as a minimally invasive surgical treatment for their vein problems.”
To know more about varicose veins and the TRIVEX procedure, call Dr. Paul Montemayor’s clinic at the Asian Hospital and Medical Center at 771-9306. You can also visit his clinic every Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 12 noon at Suite 603, Medical Office Building, Asian Hospital.