Varicose Veins

The Leg Vein Center™ at Loomis Plastic Surgery

Do you have tired, aching legs?
This movie describes the VNUS closure proceedure for treating varicose veins.

You may be suffering from varicose veins. Varicose veins are caused by venous reflux, a situation where blood pools in the leg veins rather than return to the heart as it should. Leg veins have one-way valves in them which are designed to keep blood flowing towards the heart . Sometimes these valves become incompetent and allow blood to flow backwards down the leg when you are standing or sitting. This is called reflux. As the pressure builds in the leg veins, they can begin to bulge becoming varicose. This pressure can also contribute to other problems such as spider veins, venous stasis changes,swelling, skin ulceration and thrombosis or blood clots.

The Leg Vein Center at Loomis Plastic Surgery is a comprehensive, in-office treatment center for leg veins. Dr. Mario Loomis, in practice since 1992, is a board certified plastic surgeon who has extensive experience treating varicose and spider veins of the legs.

For years, he performed surgical treatment of varicose veins utilizing minimally invasive techniques to avoid the typical scars left from traditional leg vein stripping. While these techniques were successful and state-of-the-art at the time, we now have even more convenient methods to treat varicose veins.

The RF or radiofrequency (Closure®) treatment of an incompetent vein is a revolutionary procedure performed percutaneously, that is, through the skin, like an IV. The RF catheter is inserted into the incompetent vein, often the Greater or Lesser Saphenous, and radiofrequency energy is then delivered to the vein, causing it to collapse upon itself and close down.

This is done under ultrasound guidance and local anesthesia in the office. You wear a compressive stocking on your leg for the next week to ten days, but can otherwise return to fairly normal daily activities right away. This treats the source of the problem: the reflux, which is what causes the pressure which causes the lower leg varicose veins, swelling, spider veins or ulcers. About six weeks later, if you have bulging varicosities in your lower leg, these are removed under local anesthesia in the office with minimally invasive phlebectomies. Once all the reflux is corrected and any varicosities removed, we can then address the spider veins with sclerotherapy: injections of an agent which promotes the collapse of the spider veins upon themselves.

If you think you have problems with leg veins, the first step is to come in for an evaluation. After Dr. Loomis evaluates you,he may recommend a Duplex Ultrasound study of your leg veins to check for any reflux. This is scheduled at the Leg Vein Center and will take about half an hour. If the results are consistent with reflux and your symptoms and physical exam warrant it, he may then recommend the Closure® procedure. Generally, most varicose vein evaluations and treatments are covered by health insurance. Spider vein treatments are not.

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