At Inovia Vein in Happy Valley, Oregon, we can help you address your vein care needs. We are located at the Mt Scott Professional Center in Happy Valley, Oregon. This is in Clackamas County, Oregon, just off the SE Johnson Creek Exit from Interstate I-205. Our clinic is part of a group of the only specialized vein clinics in Oregon that is staffed by Oregon’s leading vein care specialist.
What follows are very common questions we hear when helping patients through their vein care journey.
What are Varicose Veins?
Varicose veins are the result of venous insufficiency. Most leg veins have valves that keep blood from pooling in the lower legs. If some of the valves become weak or damaged, blood can pool in these veins. As pressure builds up, it stretches the veins and can lead to bulging veins on the legs.
Is it Common for Varicose Veins to Hurt?
Not all varicose veins hurt. But with time, the veins can become achy or sore. This is because as the blood pools in the veins under pressure, it can stretch them. Most tissues have pain receptors that respond to stretch. This is why varicose veins can be painful. For some patients its mild. For others, the pain can be impactful on their daily activities such as work.
Can Varicose Veins Lead to Leg Swelling?
Yes, varicose veins are a very common cause of leg swelling. This is because the pressure in the veins can lead to leakage of fluid into the tissues around the lower leg, usually starting at the ankle area and then going up toward the knee as the day goes on. In most patients, this improves at night, but then again becomes a problem the next day as the cycle repeats. In some patients, the swelling is so bad it can lead to breakdown of the skin, and infection…known as cellulitis. Thus preventing and treating swelling is an important part of varicose vein treatment.
Can Varicose Veins Lead to Other Complications?
Yes. Patients with long-standing varicose veins can develop complications such as blood clotting in the veins, known as superficial vein thrombophlebitis, stasis dermatitis, which is a skin breakdown by the ankle skin where it becomes hard, brown, red and itchy. The veins can also become quite thin and in some patients bleed. When patients have bleeding varicose veins it can lead to an emergency room visit as they can lose a lot of blood quite quickly. In some cases, patients with varicose veins develop skin breakdown into an ulcer, or non-healing wound. This is called a venous stasis ulcer. This can be a very debilitating complication that can, without treatment, lead to months or even years of suffering.
Varicose Vein Treatments
Luckily, there are a number of options available to treat varicose veins. At the Inovia Vein Specialty Clinic in Happy Valley, Oregon we can assess your varicose veins and recommend the optimal treatment for your needs. This starts off with a first visit where we listen to you about your concerns and venous symptoms, and help map out a treatment plan to diagnose and treat your particular vein disorder.
In most cases where the symptoms are advanced, the saphenous veins are the culprit. Both the great saphenous vein (GSV,) and small saphenous vein (SSV) run under the skin and are responsible for the vein return from the skin and underlying tissue. When the valves are bad, the veins dilate and stop working, leading to venous insufficiency and varicose veins.
In the past, this was treated with open surgery or vein stripping at the hospital. But not anymore. There now are numerous minimally invasive vein treatment options with interventions like endovenous ablation of the greater saphenous vein with methods such as ClosureFast RFA, VenaSeal, and Varithena Endovenous Microfoam. Most of these treatments can help reduce the pain and swelling from varicose veins significantly.
These procedures can be done in the office with a local anesthetic with little or no downtime. Patients walk in, have their treatments in less than an hour, then walk out. Most people can go back to work or normal activities the next day. Before any procedures are done, we sit down with you and help map out a personalized vein treatment plan that accounts for your specific vein care needs. This can involve staging the procedures over several treatments so we can treat both legs, as well as some of the branch vein with techniques like sclerotherapy, when indicated.
Patients often ask if these treatments are covered by insurance? The answer is that it depends. With most insurance plans when the patient has symptoms of swelling, ache, skin irritation and wounds the treatments are covered. We can help you assess your options and submit your case to your insurance company for their input when needed. For patients where insurance coverage is not offered by their insurance companies, we can help quote patient pay options to facilitate treatment.
How to Start Your Vein Treatment Journey
For an appointment, simply call 971-801-1373 to make an appointment at our office in Happy Valley, Oregon. Our specialty vein center is located at 9200 SE 91st Avenue, Suite 200, Happy Valley, Oregon, 97086, at the Mt Scott Professional Center, Medical Plaza 1, in Clackamas County, Oregon.