Vein & Vascular Clinic

What are varicose veins?

• Large, bulging veins you can see under the skin surface
• Most commonly occur in the legs
• Often a sign of underlying venous insufficiency or “leaky veins” in which the valves fail to efficiently pump blood towards the heart resulting in pooling of blood in the legs
• Symptoms include         
  • Heaviness, burning or aching in the legs especially after prolonged standing
  • Swelling of the legs
  • Itching or bleeding from veins
  • Skin discoloration
  • Superficial blood clots
  • Skin ulcers

• Spider veins are small, dilated blood vessels near the skin surface
• They can be red, blue or purple in color
• They are named “spider” veins because they often look like spider webs
• Spider veins can be a sign of an underlying vein disorder

• Sometimes people with advanced vein disease will develop open sores or ulcers associated with their underlying venous condition
• These sores are often painful, slow to heal and can be complicated by infection
• We work closely with the Mount Nittany wound care center to provide care for patients suffering from venous ulcers
• Treatment often includes a combination of wound care, compression and vein ablation

What is VenaSeal?

• A medical adhesive (like glue) is inserted into the diseased vein through a small catheter under ultrasound guidance
• The adhesive seals the targeted vein allowing blood to be redirected into other healthy veins

Benefits of VenaSeal procdure:

• Simple, outpatient procedure performed in the office typically in about 30 minutes
• Completed with local anesthesia
• Compared to heat based ablation only needle stick involved
• Minimal recovery time, you can resume most normal activities immediately after the procedure
• Compression stockings are not needed after the procedure
• Appearance of varicose veins typically improves within a short period of time
• Covered by most insurances

What is RFA?

• A small catheter is inserted into the diseased vein under ultrasound guidance
• Heat is delivered to the targeted vein causing it to collapse and close
•  Blood is redirected into other healthy veins.

Benefits of RFA procedure:

• Simple, outpatient procedure performed in the office typically in less than 60 minutes
• Completed with local anesthesia
• Minimal recovery time, you can resume most normal activities immediately after the procedure
• Appearance of varicose veins typically improves within a short period of time
• Covered by most insurances

What is Varithena?

• The targeted vein is accessed with a small needle under ultrasound guidance
• Varithena solution is injected into the vein causing the vein to collapse and close
• Blood is redirected into other healthy veins

Benefits of Varithena:

• Simple, outpatient procedure performed in the office typically in about 30 minutes
• Completed with local anesthesia
• Minimal recovery time, you can resume most normal activities immediately after the procedure
• Appearance of varicose veins typically improves within a short period of time
• Covered by most insurances

What is Sclerotherapy?

• Involves a series of injections with a very small needle directly into spider veins
• The injected solution (sclerosant) causes the abnormal veins to close and over time are reabsorbed by your body

Benefits of sclerotherapy:

• Simple procedure performed in the office with no need for anesthesia
• Minimal recovery time, you can resume most normal activities immediately after the procedure
• Appearance of spider veins improves in a short period of time

Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) occurs when plaque buildup results in narrowing or blockages in arteries carrying blood to the extremities, most commonly the legs.  A similar process can also occur in the arteries supplying blood to the kidneys, this is referred to as renal artery stenosis.

Risk factors for Peripheral Arterial Disease:

• Smoking
• Diabetes
• Hypertension
• Elevated cholesterol

Symptoms include:

• Leg pain, cramping or fatigue with activity that improves with rest
• Leg coolness or discoloration
• Leg numbness or weakness
• Sores on your toes or feet that won’t heal

A quick, noninvasive test performed in the office to screen for peripheral arterial disease. It involves comparing blood pressure measurements in the arms and legs.

Arterial ultrasounds are noninvasive and performed in our office. The study provides pictures and measurements of the arteries and blood flow.

A diagnostic procedure performed under x-ray which can also be therapeutic. The procedure is performed by inserting a small catheter into the arteries and injecting contrast dye to detect narrowing or blockages. This is an outpatient procedure performed under sedation at the Mount Nittany Medical Center cardiovascular pavilion.

Minimally invasive treatment which involves inserting a small tube called a catheter into the artery. The catheter has a balloon on the end which is gently expanded and pushes open the blockage. Angioplasty can be performed alone or in conjunction with atherectomy or stenting.

Minimally invasive treatment in which a catheter with a sharp blade on the end is used to remove plaque from an artery.

Minimally invasive treatment in which a catheter with a stent on the end will be inserted into the artery. Stents are mesh tubes that are deployed in the artery at the site of narrowing or blockage to keep the artery open.