Recent News and Articles on the Keywords: varicose veins + varicose vein + vein  Related to the article below (Last Update: 8/5/2008)

Robison might need surgery on vein in leg Minneapolis Star Tribune, MN - MANKATO - Vikings defensive end Brian Robison could be sidelined indefinitely because of a varicose vein in his left leg and might need surgery to correct ... The Closure ? Procedure for Varicose Vein Treatment to be Featured ... PR-CANADA.net (press release), Montenegro - 17 minutes ago Until recently, the primary surgical treatment for severe varicose veins was a painful and gruesome operation called vein stripping, but now minimally ... New options for treating varicose veins WPTV, FL - Amy Jakubowski was a teenager when she first noticed a varicose vein. "It's not just that they're ugly, which is probably the number one reason for me. ... Survey Shows People With Varicose Veins Unaware of Health Risks ... MarketWatch - Jul 29, 2008 A small optic fiber is inserted through a needle into the varicose vein under ultrasound guidance. The laser is then activated and as the optic fiber is ... Minnesota Vikings' Brian Robison might need surgery Pioneer Press, MN - Vikings defensive end Brian Robison has a varicose vein on his left leg that, he said, could require surgery. "It's been something that's been there for a ... BioForm Medical Selects Stratagem for US Launch PharmaLive.com (press release), PA - Injection sclerotherapy is one of the primary treatments for small to medium varicose veins in the legs, where a treatment agent is injected into the vein ...BFRM Brian Robison update Viking Update (subscription) - Robison told the PP that he may need surgery for a varicose vein in his leg, which would keep him out of action for a few weeks. New procedure takes some pain from varicose veins Houston Chronicle, United States - Jul 20, 2008 Surgical treatment of varicose veins has come a long way since the days when painful and aggressive vein stripping was the norm, said Dr. Alfonso Cordoba, ... Varicose, Spider Veins May Be Inevitable for Some Forbes all 9 news articles » New Treatment for Varicose Veins Available in Austin CBS 42, TX - Jul 31, 2008 A decade ago, getting rid of varicose veins meant stripping them. Patients had to go under general anesthesia and have surgery. It was typically followed by ... ClosureFast procedure improves varicose veins treatment The Plain Dealer - cleveland.com, OH - Jul 29, 2008 That's how long it has been since she developed varicose veins in her right calf that made her self-conscious about baring her legs. ...

Me and my operation: varicose veins

 The NHS performs more than 75,000 varicose vein operations a year. Here Deborah Jardine, a 40-year-old marketing manager who lives with her husband and children near Banbury, Oxfordshire, tells us about her varicose vein operation, and her surgeon explains the procedure.

The patient
Every summer for the past four years, I've noticed the veins on my left leg protruding more and more. They didn't ache, but they were itchy and ran down my leg starting just above the knee and around to the back of the knee. In February, I finally went to see my doctor about it. I knew it wasn't bad enough for an NHS varicose vein operation - but I have private medical insurance, so my GP referred me to a vascular surgeon, and I had an appointment with him a couple of days later.

Jeremy Perkins examined my legs, then did an ultrasound scan and immediately told me the blood wasn't flowing properly in my veins - and that the vein could be simply removed surgically.

He told me it would involve a general anaesthetic and he would make little nicks down my leg to pull out bits of vein.

But nonetheless, I decided to go for it, and I went into the Foscote Hospital in Banbury for the operation the following week, arriving a few hours before the operation.

The anaesthetist came to see me to find out whether I was allergic to anything - and to sign the consent forms for the operation.

When I woke up after the op, my leg was much more sore than I expected. But within a couple of hours, it was less painful and when Mr Perkins came to remove the bandages the next day, my leg didn't look too bad.

By mid-afternoon that day, I was limping up the path to collect the children from school. But over the next few days, my leg turned black and blue, and was swollen and very sore.

For the first few days, I was told to keep my leg up as much as possible. Although all the nicks in my legs had healed two weeks later, I was still yellowy black with bruising. But by the time we left for Florida, it had all cleared. Now you can't see the vein at all.

Jeremy Perkins, consultant vascular surgeon at John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, explains:

Varicose veins are abnormal, twisted and dilated veins - mostly occurring in the legs. There is often a familial link but they are also associated with obesity, pregnancy, and lack of exercise.

If you scanned the legs of a cross-section of the population, you would pick up vein problems in nearly a quarter of them, many with no symptoms.

Blood is pumped from the heart under pressure through the strong elastic-walled arteries and it is returned via weaker, thin-walled veins.

But the pressure of the heartbeat peters out by the time it gets to the veins. There isn't as much impetus pushing blood up the legs against gravity.

The veins have a series of valves preventing blood from going backwards - when they're working properly. Unfortunately, for people predisposed to varicose veins the weak vein walls can stretch which means the valves on either side of the walls no longer meet.

As a result, some blood may go backwards and can pool, forcing the veins to bulge. These are what are known as primary varicose veins.

The faults occur in one of two veins - the long saphenous vein from the groin, down the thigh and calf to the ankle; or the short saphenous vein which branches off the deep leg vein at the knee and runs down the back of the leg to the outside of the ankle.

The object of surgery is to disconnect and strip out the vein, which isn't a problem for the circulation because there are adequate alternative channels to take blood.

Once the patient is anaesthetised and on the operating table, we make a small incision of about 3cm in the groin, extending that cut down through the tissue until we find the point at the top of the leg where the long saphenous vein joins the deep vein.

We tie off the long saphenous vein with a nylon ligature just where it branches out of the deep leg vein then simply cut it just below the tie-off point.

Then we feed a PIN stripper down that vein. This is a narrow surgical steel rod about 50cm long - with a bent tip.

Once the tip reaches the point in the vein just inside the knee, we poke it through the vein so that it forces the skin upwards, forming a peak like a tent.

Then, from the outside, we make a little incision at the peak and gently push the PIN stripper through the incision. We return to the other end of the stripper and the disconnected vein in the groin.

The tail end of the stripper has a hole through it - like the eye of a needle. We first tie off the groin end of the vein with Vicryl - an absorbable thread - which we attach through the hole of the stripper and pull the head of the PIN stripper through the knee incision, bringing with it the vein from groin to knee.

Small side branches of the vein are snapped off and this causes bleeding, which is why people get bruising and sometimes discomfort.

Once the tail end of the pin stripper is pulled through the knee incision, we tie the vein with an absorbable ligature to prevent further bleeding then cut it and pop it back through the knee incision.

That part of the operation tackles the root of the problem - the long saphenous vein. Next, we deal with the bulging varicose veins. These can occur anywhere in the network of veins branching off the long saphenous vein which have become distended and twisted.

They are removed by what are called stab avulsions. We make a 2-3mm stab through the skin with a sharp-pointed scalpel then, using an instrument like a crochet hook, we hook the vein, pull it out and apply pressure to stop bleeding. We probably do ten to 15 of these in an operation.

We then put an absorbable stitch under the skin of the groin incision and inject a local anaesthetic. Small dressings are stuck over the stab sites, and the legs are bandaged up tightly for 24 hours.

Patients wear compression stockings for ten days which squeeze blood out of the legs. To prevent swelling, patients leave them on day and night for the first few days.

Patients need some exercise, but they should also keep their legs raised when sitting down. Bruising can be quite significant after a varicose vein operation.

The operation costs the NHS approximately £1,500 per leg - and you will pay about hte same privately, including an overnight hospital stay.