And the Emergency Chain that Saved Him. - St. Joseph Medical ...

Sleep Disorders
‰ VARICOSE
VEIN SYMPTOMS
• Aching legs that feel heavy
and sometimes painful
• Enlarged, bulging veins
• Ankle and calf swelling
• Brown discoloration at the ankles
• Skin ulcers near ankles in severe cases
For complications such as sudden
increase in pain or swelling, redness,
fever or leg ulcers, see your doctor.
section of bone from the affected joint, or
replace the entire joint with an implant.
Bunions often run in families. Wearing
tight shoes doesn’t cause bunions, but
can make them worse. Various surgeries
are available to remove the bony bump
and straighten the bone structure.
Dr. Tina Woodburn’s Foot Soak
and Massage for Callused Feet:
1. Add to a basin of water: Fresh lemon
wedges, mint leaves and peppermint oil,
or a lavender and tea tree oil blend
2. Place smooth river rocks in the basin
and rub your feet on them
3. Pat your feet dry, use a pumice stone to
remove dead skin, and use a moisturizer
such as Aqua Glycolic.
YOU’RE NOT VEIN!
Vaporizing Achy-Breaky
Varicose Veins
a cosmetic nuisance that makes
women feel self-conscious to a
health hazard. They can cause ach-
Varicose leg veins can vary from
ing legs, chronic leg swelling and,
even, lead to leg cramps or restless
leg syndrome at night. Some very serious
conditions such as blood clots or phlebitis
occasionally result.
Although many women develop varicose
veins during pregnancy, both men and
women can be at risk for these bluish, often
bulging, veins. Risk factors include having
a job that keeps you sitting or standing
for hours—which is just plain unhealthy,
according to Dr. Wayne Reichman, vascular
surgeon with a specialty in varicose
vein treatment.
“Laser therapy vaporizes
the vein and has a very
high success rate.”
Dr. Wayne Reichman, vascular surgeon
“When you walk, your calf muscles act
like a bellow that forces blood to flow up
to your heart,” he says. Long periods of sitting
and standing can cause the blood to
pool in the legs, creating a pressure buildup
that leads to enlarged, bulging veins.
Extra abdominal weight—whether due to
pregnancy or being overweight—can be
another contributing factor.
Leaky vein valve
In normal veins, blood moves toward the
heart. A varicose vein usually indicates that
a valve is not closing properly. “The problem
occurs upstream from the varicose
veins. At the inner junction in the groin,
there’s a valve that’s leaking blood back
into the leg,” explains Dr. Reichman.
Amazing laser
One of the newest treatments to eradicate
varicose veins is called Endovenous Laser
Therapy (EVLT ® ). “Laser therapy vaporizes
the vein and has a very high success
rate,” says Dr. Reichman, who uses the
laser to seal the leaky valve so that the
varicose vein doesn’t recur.
Disappearing veins
“No harm is done by closing the valve,”
reassures Dr. Reichman. The superficial
vein system, where varicose veins
occur, carries only ten percent of the
leg’s blood flow. When the valve is shut,
the body compensates by moving all the
blood flow through the deep venous system,
where 90 percent of the blood has
flowed previously.
This outpatient procedure takes
approximately 20 minutes. Patients
return home with their leg in a compression
wrap, which stays on overnight.
Following treatment, “the varicose veins
in 70 percent of patients gradually shrink
and disappear in one to two months,”
says Dr. Reichman.
For large veins that don’t shrink, there
are two other procedures: A microphlebectomy
involves a tiny puncture though
which the doctor pulls out the vein,
barely leaving a scar. The other, called
schlerotherapy, is a vein injection with a
solution that will cause the vein to seal
and disappear.
For people with minor or cosmetic
varicose vein problems, Dr. Reichman
recommends keeping your legs elevated
while sitting and wearing support stockings
while standing.
For a Physician referraL
Call our Doctors Directory at 410-337-1337 or go to www.StJosephTowson.com
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