It’s almost shorts season

"I just wanted to be able to look at my legs and not feel awful. For the first summer in 25 years, I wore shorts and did not feel embarrassed." - Shaye R. 

"I wore a skirt for the first time in decades." - Jane S.

"Even though I'm only 30, I gave up caring what my legs looked like, but now you can see the shape of my legs again!” - Lisa F.

For these former patients of the Vein Healthcare Center, their main goal was to make their legs feel better. But after vein treatment, they were delighted to find that their legs also look better.

As summer approaches -- shorts and skirts weather -- it can be emotionally difficult for those with visible vein disease to enjoy their time out and about. At the Vein Healthcare Center, our philosophy is that patients who want to treat their problematic veins aren't being vain, they want to improve their health and quality of life. Being comfortable with their legs in public is part of that quality of life.

To hear more about patient experiences at the Vein Healthcare Center before and after venous treatment, check out Perspectives, a resource you can download and share.

Education is an important first step toward better vein health. The next step is to receive a complete evaluation. To schedule a new patient visit, call us at (207) 221-7799 or request an appointment online. 

Good post-EVLA care can prevent complications

Endovenous laser ablation, or EVLA, is a minimally invasive treatment used to address specific large varicose veins in the legs. It is considered the gold standard in treatment of venous symptoms, and has largely replaced previous, more invasive standards of care, such as vein stripping. 

EVLA has opened the door for many patients with venous disorders to eliminate symptoms and improve their appearance with minimal time investment and minimal pain, but there are some things to be aware of after EVLA treatment.

As the leg heals, there may be bruising and swelling of the treated area, however, both are self-limited and usually resolve within the first two weeks after the EVLA procedure. 

Phlebitis is another common adverse complication -- one that commonly occurs with any IV stick, or even spontaneously from varicose veins. It is more common with EVLA because with this procedure, we are intentionally "irritating" the vein. The national incidence for resulting phlebitis is recorded at ~30%, however, at my office, we instruct patients who experience any post-procedure pain to use elevation, heat and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications, essentially treating pain prophylactically (as a preventative measure). Thus, we tend to have a much lower incidence of post-procedure phlebitis at VHC.

We also guide our patients in their post-EVLA care so that they can experience effective healing and a quick recovery.

If you'd like to learn more about EVLA and other vein treatments, contact us. We're happy to answer your questions or schedule an evaluation of your vein health.

Listen to your legs

Sometimes venous disease is very obvious. Bulging, twisty veins that wrap around your legs is one manifestation. Purple spidery veins on the backs of your thighs may be another. But there are other, more subtle clues that your veins may not be working as well as they should.

Do your legs sometimes feel achy or throbbing? Do you have leg cramps in the middle of the night? Are your legs exhausted by the end of the day?

These may be signs of vein disease, and it's best not to ignore them for a couple of reasons. For one thing, your body is trying to tell you something is wrong. Waiting for the issues to go away on their own may actually make them worse as time goes on. If you find out what the problem is, you can take steps to fix it!

Sue, age 63, from North Yarmouth, Maine is one of our patients at the Vein Healthcare Center. Here's what Sue had to say about her own experience:

“I work at a daycare and when I came home at the end of the day, my legs were like cement. I could not move them. It was affecting me tremendously but because it didn’t hurt, I had no idea my veins were the problem. I had EVLA done in both legs, and they felt much lighter right away.”

You can read more patient experiences like Sue's by clicking here. If you are having issues with your legs that you can't quite explain, take a look at this list of questions, and see if you can relate. Finally, contact us at the Vein Healthcare Center to make an appointment for an evaluation of your venous system. There may be a way to fix the problem.