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| Article April 2005 |
| What Treatment is the best for your leg veins? |
There are so many treatments now available for varicose veins, thread veins and venous problems of the leg, it can become very confusing as to which is best for you. In this article Mark Whiteley of The Whiteley Clinic explains how vein conditions are linked and how the right treatment is selected.
In order to choose the correct treatment, we need to know the underlying cause of any vein problems. The diagram shows how the veins in the leg are usually linked.
The deep vein takes blood back to the heart. The superficial vein should feed blood into the deep vein - but in people with vein problems, it is often this vein that is not working. The superficial vein can NOT be seen on the surface in most people - and can only be checked by using Duplex ultrasound.
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When the superficial vein is not working, blood flows backwards down it, causing one or more venous problems that can usually be seen on the skin.
Thread veins and Reticular Veins: When blood falls down small feeder veins, then surface veins can dilate (get bigger) causing reticular veins and thread veins (sometimes incorrectly called 'broken veins')..
Varicose Veins: When blood falls down side branches leading to bigger veins under the skin, these dilate into big sacs of blood that bulge out - called varices (or varicose veins).
Skin Damage, Venous Eczema and Ulcers: If the blood falls down the superficial vein for a long period of time, it can cause inflammation of the fat and skin around the ankle. Over a period of several years, this damage can cause itching, discoloration or ulcers.
In order to select the right treatment, it is not enough to see what is visible on the skin. It is essential to know what is going on within the leg. Therefore all of the experts at The Whiteley Clinic only decide on which treatment is best for their patient after getting one of our specialist venous Duplex ultrasound examinations of the deep and superficial veins.
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