Vein conditions

Your legs are made up of a network of veins, the function of which is to bring deoxygenated blood back to the heart. Healthy leg veins contain valves that open and close to assist the return of blood back to the heart. Because the veins are a low-pressure system, they contain one-way valves to prevent blood flowing backward as it travels back to the heart.

Understanding superficial venous reflux

Venous reflux disease develops when the valves that keep blood flowing out of the legs and back to the heart become damaged or diseased. If the one-way valve becomes weak, some of the blood can leak back into the vein, causing the veins to become congested or clogged. This congestion will cause the vein to enlarge abnormally and can cause blood to pool in your legs. This leads to symptoms including pain, swelling, swollen limbs, leg heaviness and fatigue, skin changes and skin ulcers, and the conditions of varicose veins or spider veins.

Common vein conditions

For many patients, an office evaluation by a vein specialist is all that is needed to determine the extent of the varicose and spider veins and to develop an initial treatment plan. In other patients, however, there is evidence that some larger superficial veins might be incompetent and contribute to the visible varicose veins. When this is suspected, a detailed examination using a sophisticated Duplex Doppler ultrasound scanner is done to ‘map’ the blood flow and characterize the vessels. This non-invasive test performed in the office setting allows the treating physician to characterize the extent of the problem better and develop a treatment plan that will minimize the chance of recurrence and maximize the potential to obtain the best results.

Varicose veins before and after photos

Spider and reticular veins are variants of varicose veins; they are smaller, red or blue in color, and closer to the skin’s surface than varicose veins. They can look like a tree branch or spider web with their short, jagged branches. Spider veins are also known as telangectasias and are most commonly found on the legs and the face, and come in a variety of sizes.

Spider veins before and after photos

Vein Clinic

Clinics

Eastside Clinic
Bend, Oregon

Vein Clinic phone

541-706-6506