Chronic venous insufficiency (CVI) occurs when the veins in your legs become damaged and can't function properly. The veins in your legs have valves that block blood from returning to your heart.
Best Spider Vein Doctors can help you with CVI treatment to remove varicose veins and manage leg discomfort.
What is chronic venous insufficiency (CVI)?
Chronic venous insufficiency, or CVI, is when the veins have problems carrying blood back to the heart. It is also known as chronic venous stasis, phlebitis, or post-thrombotic syndrome. It most often affects the veins of the legs, although it sometimes occurs in the arms as well.
What causes chronic venous insufficiency (CVI)?
Chronic venous insufficiency can develop from common conditions such as varicose veins or when something, such as deep vein thrombosis or another clot, damages the valves inside the veins.
It is more common in those with risk factors like:
- Being tall, female, or carrying extra weight.
- Family history of CVI
- Legs with a history of thrombosis of deep veins.
- Middle age or older
- Pregnancy
- Standing or sitting for long periods
Ambulatory phlebectomy: chronic venous insufficiency medical procedure
If you notice signs of CVI, seeing a Penn Medicine doctor for treatment is wise. Chronic venous insufficiency usually worsens on its own without therapy. However, lifestyle changes and medication can slow the progression. If noninvasive care doesn't help, they offer many options for chronic venous insufficiency medical procedure.
Medications
Medications used to treat CVI include:
- When clear skin infections or CVI-caused ulcers occur, antibiotics are given. However, these medications do not address the underlying illness.
- Blood thinners or anticoagulants treat existing blood clots and prevent future blood clots from forming.
- The medicated wrap, also known as an Unna boot, creates a semi-rigid bandage by combining multilayer compression with a wound cover made of zinc oxide gel.
Surgical treatment:
- Ligation and stripping: These two procedures are often done together. Your provider cuts the problematic veins and ties them off for vein ligation. Stripping involves surgically removing larger veins through two small incisions.
- Ambulatory phlebectomy: This is a minimally invasive procedure that targets varicose veins near the surface of your skin. Your provider makes small incisions or needle holes in your veins and uses a phlebectomy hook to remove the problematic veins.
- How Long Ambulatory Phlebectomy Recovery Will Take: Depending on the scope of your procedure, you can expect your ambulatory phlebectomy recovery to take anywhere from seven to 21 days. The recovery time will depend on how well you care for yourself after the procedure.
- Vein bypass is similar to heart bypass surgery in a different location. To redirect blood around your injured vein, your provider utilizes a portion of a healthy vein from another area of your body. Providers use this method only when no other treatments are effective in severe cases.
Nonsurgical treatment
Nonsurgical treatments for CVI include:
- Sclerotherapy: Your provider injects a foam or liquid solution into your spider or varicose veins, causing the vein to collapse or disappear.
- Endovenous thermal ablation: This technique targets large veins. It generates a lot of heat using a laser or high-frequency radio waves. This heat seals off the damaged vein while leaving it in place to minimize bleeding or bruises.
Schedule your appointment
Ambulatory phlebectomy recovery time can take anywhere from one to three weeks, depending on the scope of the procedure and how well you care for yourself afterward. To heal as quickly as possible, adhere to all recovery guidelines. If you are suffering from varicose veins and think the future of CVI treatment method is right for you, schedule an initial consultation today at the best vein doctor in New York.
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