What is Vein Disease?
75% of people over the age of 60 have Chronic Venous Insufficiency, which is more commonly known as Venous Reflux. Venous reflux, which some people call "vein disease," is the cause of varicose veins. People think of varicose veins as large, protruding veins that stick out and are tender but there is much more. These veins have been worn out by normal living. The valves no longer work properly as the larger vein has been stretched due to back flow. As you are living life, the pressure in your lower legs increases until the vein can take no more. The higher pressure causes the blood to spray out of the veins into the subcutaneous tissue. In early stages, you get restless leg syndrome, foot swelling, ankle swelling, and sometimes numbness, called neuropathy. As the disease progresses, leg swelling starts to occur. Then you start to see the legs begin to darken and discolor. Everyone keeps saying you have infections but antibiotics don't work. Swelling get so bad that you can't wear shoes anymore. The term "lymphedema" gets applied to you but you have no causes of lymphedema. Your legs are fine in the morning but swell and hurt by the evening. Being active seems to make your veins worse but you're not going to be less active? You've tried compression for greater than 6 months and there's no relief. You might have tried leg elevation, but most haven't, and even then you get limited relief. Why?
When the valves in the saphenous veins are damaged, they are not able to keep blood from pooling in your leg. That pooling increases the pressure within the vein and causes it stretch. Once the vein is stretched, it is not possible for it to return to normal size and function ever again. Although the condition can be life threatening, it is mostly painful and affects activities of daily living.
Historically, patients have not had many choices for treating varicose veins. They could make lifestyle changes, such as eating less, exercising more. and wearing support hose. This regimen has not proven helpful in reducing leg pain and further deterioration of the vein, even in mild cases. However, recently, it has been shown that vein disease is a condition of natural aging, or "wear and tear." Therefore, once you know you have venous disease, venous treatment is the only option that can help cure the disease.
Patients then have treatments to their superficial vessels that reduce the pain and inflammation. Superficial vessels are not needed and are a backup system to our needed, deep circulation. Therefore, the vessels being treated are not vital to the body. There are so many veins in the human body that not all are named. The ones being treated are diseased and causing you harm. To treat venous disease, there are many kinds of procedures and it depends on the vein & location that determine what technique will be needed. These range from endovascular procedures to sclerotherapy to cutaneous skin surgery. Regardless, Dr. Parisi has performed these techniques many times and has been a certified instructor for many of the technologies he has uses.
To see Dr. Parisi explain this in a television video, clink the following link:
EVCA (Endovascular Catheter Ablation)
The EVCA procedure was a revolutionary discovery in the treatment of venous disease. Rather than harsh vein stripping surgery, this procedure allowed venous disease to be treated much more easily in that it was less invasive but more advanced. It is an outpatient treatment (20 minutes) used at Las Vegas Vein by Dr. Parisi. Patients experience less discomfort and have significantly decreased healing time with this procedure compared with other treatment options for varicose veins as well. Coupled with other proven techniques, your vein disease will be treated fully.
The EVCA procedure was developed over a four-year period to treat superficial venous reflux. This patented technology uses a very small catheter and use energy or mechanochemical ways to seal shut the vein. Dr. Parisi uses an IV to insert the slender catheter into the saphenous vein. The catheter is then positioned near the groin, treated, and slowly withdrawn, sealing the vein shut. There are no stitches, and most patients return to normal activity within a day or two.
The procedure has been the subject of numerous studies and journal articles. The results from a peer-reviewed, multi-center, randomized trial comparing recovery rates and quality of life between patients treated with conventional vein stripping and the EVCA procedure, and a third randomized trial showing that patients who receive stripping and the EVCA procedure consistently experienced less post-operative pain, and returned to normal activities and work faster than patients whose veins were surgically stripped.
In addition, published studies found that at 12 and 24 months following the EVCA procedure, 97% or more treated veins remained reflux-free and a significant reduction of limb pain, fatigue and edema was observed. In one study, which also assessed patient satisfaction at 6 months, 98% of patients indicated they would recommend the EVCA procedure to a friend with similar leg vein problems. More than 3,000,000 patients have been treated with EVCA procedure to date.