Chronic Venous Insufficiency - Why early diagnosis and treatment are critical

Venous disease ranges in severity from the unsightly, such as spider and varicose veins, to the life-altering, such as chronic venous insufficiency (CVI). In CVI, failing valves in leg veins can't do their job of pushing blood up against the forces of gravity toward the heart. As a result, blood pools in the lower legs and over time may cause pain, swelling, skin discol-oration and even limb threatening ulcers.

For many years, patients with venous diseases had few options other than supportive treatment such as special boots and stockings or invasive vein stripping surgery. Today, CVI is treatable through an in-office, minimally invasive and pain-free procedure known as The VNUS® Closure procedure.

We perform this procedure by using ultra-sound to position the Closure catheter into the diseased vein through small needle sticks. The tiny catheter delivers radio frequency (RF) energy to the vein wall, and as the RF energy is delivered and the catheter is withdrawn, the vein wall is heated. This causes the collagen in the wall to shrink and the vein to close. Once the diseased vein is closed, blood is re-routed to other healthy veins.

Patients resume regular activities the same day, but the ultimate goal of this treatment is to minimize further pain or disability. Typically, CVI does not pose a serious threat to life or limb, but early treatment is crucial to prevent further progression and the complications that can result from chronic venous stasis which can be disabling.