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