People come into CiC complaining of chronic leg pain with swollen and achy legs, wondering what causes these symptoms. A CiC vein specialist can perform a comprehensive Venous Health Screening, which includes a complete physical examination, as well as use Doppler ultrasound to look beneath the surface of the skin. In many cases, we find that the cause of their symptoms is a condition known as chronic venous insufficiency (CVI). CVI leads to abnormal or malfunctioning valves within the veins, that can lead to varicose veins.

“When we tell the patients this,” says Dr. Garby, “the phrase we hear over and over is, But…I’m too young to have varicose veins!”

At CiC, we hear this phrase from patients in their 40’s and 50’s, but also from much younger patients. And we understand their disbelief, because in some cases their varicose veins aren’t even visible on the surface of the skin, at least not yet. A thorough ultrasound analysis can clearly identify the presence of diseased veins beneath the skin surface, and that’s how we diagnose their condition.

Because this IS such a common response, we’ve decided to discuss the question of age and how it relates to varicose veins. We think that after reading this blog, you’ll be able to better understand who gets varicose veins. You’ll also learn why they get them and at what ages they get them. We hope this information will help you to seek and find the best varicose vein treatment near you.

No, you’re NOT too young to get varicose veins

The belief that varicose veins only happen to older people is widespread, but it is false. It’s true that most cases of varicose veins occur among older people. Statistically, over half of women over 65 have them, but fewer than 1 in 20 women under 24 have them. But…”1 in 20″ is still a large number, and we have seen cases of people developing varicose veins as early as their teens and early 20’s.

And no, they’re not just a “women’s problem” – men get varicose veins, too

According to the National Institute of Health (NIH), varicose veins affect nearly 17% of men in the United States. Many of these men are developing varicose veins earlier in life, as well.

What people of all ages need to know about what causes varicose veins

So what causes varicose veins? In this section, we’ll talk about the things that increase a person’s risk of developing vein disease and varicose veins.

Your age IS an important factor to consider when assessing your vein disease risk, but it’s not the most important factor. That would probably be heredity. If both of your parents had varicose veins, you have a 90% chance of developing them yourself. If only one of your parents had them, you have a 60% chance of getting them if you’re female, and a 20% chance if you’re male.

Being overweight and/or not getting enough exercise also greatly increases your risk of developing varicose veins. Due to hormonal reasons, women have a higher varicose vein risk than men do. This risk increases after pregnancy and can worsen with every additional pregnancy. The risk is also increased if they use birth control pills or hormone replacement therapy.

These factors significantly increase your risk of developing varicose veins after the age of 60. However, they also increase that risk when you’re much younger. So no, even if you’re in your 30’s and 40’s, you’re not too young to have varicose veins.

Whatever your age, here’s how to find the best vein disease treatment in Tempe

So what do you DO about this? If you realize that because of heredity or lifestyle choices you’re at risk for developing varicose veins, what do you do about it?

The answer to this question is simple – give the vein experts at Comprehensive Integrated Care (CiC) a call at 888-377-7122 or go online to arrange a vein health screening with one of our vascular specialists like Dr. Karen Garby. Your first priority should be to find out exactly what your level of varicose vein risk actually IS.

If you know you have varicose veins, what steps should you take to find the best varicose vein treatment specialists near you? Again, we recommend that you give us a call at CiC, because our doctors are widely respected for providing the best vein disease treatment in the Valley. We specialize in minimally-invasive, non-surgical treatment procedures. These procedures not only remove the pain and discomfort of varicose veins, but remove the swollen veins themselves. These varicose vein removal treatments are so gentle that you can literally have your varicose veins removed on your lunch hour, and then walk out and return to work or home.

“So – however old you are – don’t feel bad about varicose veins,” says Dr. Garby.  And don’t feel that you have to “live with them.” You don’t. Modern varicose vein treatment options can eliminate varicose veins permanently, and at the same time eliminate the symptoms they often cause, such as leg pain and swelling. Give us a call or go online to schedule, and allow the best vein doctors in Phoenix to explain your treatment options to you. You’ll be glad you did!

The post I’m Too Young to Have Varicose Veins – How Do I Find the Best Varicose Vein Treatment Near Me? appeared first on Comprehensive Integrated Care.

If you are old enough to remember polio and smallpox, you might consider the elimination of those diseases important. Or you might consider organ transplants and modern heart surgery important.

In this article, vein specialists from the best vascular clinics in Tempe and Sun City will discuss two medical breakthroughs that have changed modern medicine drastically. However, they are less known by the general public. The breakthroughs we as vascular specialists have in mind are the tremendous improvements in the field of medical imaging and visualization. Specifically, the invention of minimally-invasive endovenous therapy, within the specialty of interventional radiology.

Modern medical imaging has made x-rays look old-fashioned

Don’t get us wrong…as doctors we know that the invention of x-rays in 1895 was a really big deal. It was a monumental breakthrough in the field of medicine. It was the first time that doctors could “look inside” the bodies of their patients without surgically opening them up. But x-rays, as important as they were to the progress of medicine, had some significant drawbacks. X-ray equipment itself is bulky and expensive and the radiation it produces can be dangerous if overused.

These drawbacks helped to make the invention of medical ultrasound and the field of diagnostic sonography the huge breakthroughs they have become. Ultrasound is a safe, inexpensive and portable technology used to “look inside” patients’ bodies to visualize and diagnose disease conditions. Instead of relying on x-ray radiation, an ultrasound device uses high-frequency sound. It beams these painless, harmless sound waves through the skin, and then records what happens to them as they bounce off of bones, organs, and tissue. A computer then analyzes these sound waves when they bounce back, “decoding” them to create a “map” of what is happening under the patient’s skin.

Since it was introduced, ultrasound has become a fundamental part of modern medicine. At CiC, our top Tempe and Sun City vein specialists use advanced Doppler ultrasound to not only see the structure of our patients’ veins, but the flow of blood within them. This enables us to detect blockages such as blood clots. It also allows us to easily and painlessly diagnose diseases such as chronic venous insufficiency (CVI). CVI causes blood to flow back into the veins and pool there, leading to varicose veins.

The other breakthrough is interventional radiology – the science of minimally-invasive surgery

As doctors, we know that traditional invasive surgery is important. There are still many disease conditions that require it. But invasive surgery comes with risks. Large incisions can result in scarring, and recovering from them can require days or even weeks. Plus, the surgeries themselves must be performed in a hospital and under general anesthesia, which always involves some degree of risk.

The invention of portable ultrasound devices enabled surgeons to invent new ways of treating their patients’ disease without the need for invasive surgery. Instead of making large incisions, interventional radiologists insert small needles or catheters directly into a vein through a small puncture. Using ultrasound, they can then precisely guide the catheter into place inside the vein, to the exact location of a blockage or failure. Once it is in position, they can inject medicines to close a diseased varicose vein and eliminate it.

At CiC, we use these state-of-the-art techniques to provide vein disease treatment that can radically improve your life

Thanks to these two medical breakthroughs, modern vein disease treatment is fast and painless. Most of the procedures we perform can be completed in less than hour on an outpatient basis, in the comfort of our Tempe or Sun City vein clinics. CiC’s varicose vein treatment specialists can eliminate a patient’s swollen veins on their lunch hour. Our patients walk in with vein disease, and walk out without it. Now THAT is what we call a medical breakthrough!

If you would like us to explain more about these breakthrough medical procedures and what they can do for you, give us a call at 888-377-7122 or go online to set up a consultation and get the treatment process started. You’ll be glad you did.

The post The Best Vascular Clinic in Tempe and Sun City Explain Why Vein Disease Treatments Are Among the Decade’s Best Medical Breakthroughs appeared first on Comprehensive Integrated Care.

Many of our patients don’t realize this. The fact that they can walk into our CiC offices, have their varicose veins eliminated in minutes, and then walk out and return to work or home is something they take for granted. They assume that varicose vein treatment has always been this fast, effective, and painless.

But it hasn’t. In this article, the vascular experts at Comprehensive Integrated Care (CiC) explain what “treating varicose veins” used to be like. Then we’ll talk about what it is today. We think that when you understand how much vein treatment has improved in just a few years, you’ll better appreciate the care you receive at CiC.

What varicose vein removal was like a few decades ago

Most women (and men) who had varicose veins pretty much had to live with them. Conservative treatment such as wearing support stockings could help to minimize the symptoms, but couldn’t make the swollen veins go away. One of the only treatments that could remove varicose veins permanently was called “vein stripping.” And, yes, it was often as grueling as it sounds. A surgeon had to make incisions along the length of the diseased veins, and then literally scrape them out with a scalpel. Naturally, this had to be done in a hospital and under general anesthesia. As you can imagine, recovery from this procedure was long and painful. Also, the incisions often left scars that were as unattractive as the varicose veins had been.

Relax – modern varicose vein treatment at our CiC Tempe and Sun City locations isn’t anything like this

Among the advances in medicine that have been made since the age of “vein stripping,” two additional breakthroughs changed the nature of venous medicine forever. The first was the invention of ultrasound. Ultrasound gave doctors an inexpensive, portable technology to visualize diseased veins without breaking the skin to see them. This made possible a whole new way of diagnosing vein disease.

The second advance was the specialty of Interventional Radiology (IR). IR allows vascular doctors to treat varicose veins in a minimally-invasive manner. Instead of making incisions in the skin to expose the diseased veins, vein doctors can insert a tiny needle or catheter directly into the veins. They then guide it into place using ultrasound and use a number of techniques to seal the veins and close them permanently.

The advantages of this approach are obvious. Minimally-invasive procedures are so painless that in most cases only local anesthetics are needed. This means they can be performed in the comfort of your Tempe or Sun City vein clinics, with no need to go to a hospital. The procedures are so gentle that they require almost no “recovery time.” Most patients literally walk in, have their varicose veins treated in less than an hour, and walk out.

Modern varicose vein treatment options work better, too

Because there are no incisions, only a pin-prick, there is no scarring. Once the diseased veins are closed, they shrink, are absorbed into surrounding tissue, and disappear. Modern varicose vein removal is so effective that it has close to a 100% success rate.

Here are some of the treatment options we specialize in

At Comprehensive Integrated Care, vascular doctors like Dr. Karen Garby, Dr. Jeff Braxton, Dr James McEown and Dr Michael Makki are among Arizona’s most respected vascular specialists. They have years of experience performing a number of cutting-edge, IR-based varicose vein treatment options.

We’ll describe some of these procedures below, including links that will allow you to read more about them on our website if you want more information:

• Sclerotherapy. This technique is used to treat visible spider veins. With this procedure, we insert a very fine needle into the vein and inject a medication that causes the vein to close. The closed vein is then gradually absorbed by the body until all traces of the veins on the surface of the skin disappear. More than one session may be required.
• Radiofrequency Ablation. This procedure treats the underlying cause of bulging varicose veins. Using ultrasound, a catheter is inserted into the malfunctioning vein and radiofrequency energy is used to heat the vein, causing it to close. The blood is re-routed to normal, healthy veins and symptoms improve within days. 
• Endovenous Laser Ablation. Similar to radiofrequency ablation, a laser fiber is inserted into the malfunctioning vein. Laser energy is used to heat the vein, causing it to close. 
• Medical Adhesive (Like Super Glue). Finally, we are specialists in the use of the latest technique called Venaseal that uses a medical adhesive to close the malfunctioning vein. Benefits of this approach are that the glue sets within minutes, and there is no need for the heat associated with other types of treatment plus there is no need to wear compression stockings afterward.

If you want to learn more about these state-of-the-art varicose vein treatment options in Tempe or Sun City, give our specialists a call at 888-377-7122. Or go online on our CiC website to schedule an appointment. Our talented team of vein experts are happy to assist you.

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