All About Vein Disease

Vein disease is a progressive circulatory system condition. Fortunately, there are options available to treat the various stages and restore your circulatory health.

At Texas Vascular Institute, interventional radiologist Dr. Dev Batra and his staff are well-versed in vein issues, the problems they cause, and the treatments that help resolve them. Here’s what they want you to know about vein disease and what to do if it impacts you.

The veins’ role in circulation

Your circulatory system delivers oxygenated blood to your body’s tissues and returns deoxygenated blood back to the lungs and heart. Arteries perform the former function, while veins perform the latter.

One issue with the return trip, though, is that the blood has to fight against the pull of gravity. To compensate, the calf muscles contract to force the blood forward, and the veins have a series of one-way valves that snap shut once blood flows through.

If the vein walls weaken, or if the valves become damaged, blood can flow back toward the legs and feet, pooling around the weakened or damaged area.

If the problem isn’t treated, the condition turns chronic, becoming what’s known as chronic venous insufficiency (CVI). It affects about 40% of adults in the United States. While CVI’s manifestations can simply be cosmetic, they may also lead to leg pain, swelling, or skin ulceration that’s slow to heal or won’t heal at all. It also puts you at risk for deep vein thrombosis (DVT).

Venous stasis dermatitis

The next stage of vein disease affects the skin’s appearance over the affected veins. Most commonly, you’ll notice a brown or red discoloration around your lower legs and ankles. The coloration comes from hemosiderin deposits, a breakdown product of the hemoglobin molecule that transports oxygen. You may also see shiny, scaly, or thickened skin, as well as skin scarring.

Venous ulcers

Venous ulcers are easy to identify — they’re open sores surrounded by discolored or hardened skin. They are usually located on the lower leg or ankle. The base of the ulcer usually appears red. If infected, the ulcer can produce a large amount of pus, and when manipulated, the ulcer oozes venous blood. While the sore is relatively painless, people may experience pain from related edema or infection.

The main problem with ulcers is that they’re slow to heal, which means they may easily become infected, especially for diabetics.

At Texas Vascular Institute, Dr. Batra treats vein disease at the source — malfunctioning veins. Treatments he uses include:

• VenaSeal™: injects adhesive into the problem vein to seal it shut. Blood shunts to different, healthy veins
• ClosureFast™: uses specialized tool to deliver radiofrequency (RF) impulses to the diseased vein, causing it to collapse
• Ultrasound-guided foam sclerotherapy: injects diseased veins with a solution that irritates and withers your vein. Ultrasound makes standard sclerotherapy more precise

If you’re having any symptoms of vein disease, or you think an examination may be necessary, call Texas Vascular Institute at 972-646-8346 to set up a consultation with Dr. Batra or book online.