Vein Disease & Treatment

Your legs are made up of a network of veins. Healthy leg veins contain valves that open and close to assist the return of blood back to the heart. Venous reflux disease develops when the valves that keep blood flowing out of the legs and back to the heart become damaged or diseased. This can cause blood to pool in your legs and lead to symptoms such as pain, swelling, swollen limbs, leg heaviness and fatigue, skin changes and skin ulcers, and varicose veins.

Some people have small blood vessels in their skin that enlarge. They can occur anywhere on the body but mainly affect the legs and face. They are ‘thread-like’ or have several branches hence the names given to them.

What causes spider veins?

We do not know exactly why some people get thread veins. They often occur in women so they may be related to the hormone estrogen. In some people they appear at the site of previous operations or insect bites.

What treatments have been used for spider veins?

Established treatments for spider veins involve injections or laser therapy. Injections (sclerotherapy) can be a very good way of removing large areas of spider veins. These tend to work on the large blue spider veins. Injections cannot be used on very small veins or those on the face. At the Mountcastle Plastic Surgery & Vein Institute, we also offer Veinwave™ for the treatment of unsightly spider or thread veins. Laser treatment is expensive and can cause burns. The skin can be permanently bleached and you shouldn’t have the therapy within a few weeks of a suntan as it increases skin damage.

Varicose veins are ropy appearing blue vessels under the skin, usually ¼ inch or larger in diameter. They are most often branches from the saphenous trunk veins, and have enlarged due to the excess pressure in the saphenous system. Varicose veins are unsightly and often painful. A clotted varicose vein causes the classic phlebitis, hot and red and painful skin at the site of the clot. Beside the visible symptoms, physical symptoms are tiredness, restless legs at night, heaviness in the leg, pain, aching, itching, throbbing and swelling, burning or a cramping sensation.