Chronic Venous Insufficiency
Kellie Savage, PA in the Vascular Surgery department at Henry Ford Health discusses the symptoms, causes and treatment options for chronic venous insufficiency.
If you have leg pain, bulging veins and swelling, you could have chronic venous insufficiency, a condition affecting blood flow from leg veins to the heart. The condition often develops after a blood clot known as a deep vein thrombosis. With effective treatment, you can feel better and return to a healthy, active life.
Vascular specialists at Henry Ford have advanced training and expertise in treating chronic venous insufficiency (CVI) and other venous diseases. We provide expert care to improve your symptoms and treat the underlying causes of CVI.
The Henry Ford Vein Center provides:
Kellie Savage, PA in the Vascular Surgery department at Henry Ford Health discusses the symptoms, causes and treatment options for chronic venous insufficiency.
Chronic venous insufficiency (CVI) is a condition affecting the veins, which return blood from the body to the heart. CVI usually occurs in the legs and develops when valves in leg veins don’t work properly. As a result, blood flows backward and pools in the legs. Also called post-thrombotic syndrome, CVI is a condition that often develops after a blood clot known as a deep vein thrombosis.
CVI is a long-term condition that worsens over time. Proper treatment can successfully manage it, though, especially with an early diagnosis. Otherwise, CVI can lead to varicose veins and venous ulcers (skin sores) on the lower legs.
Leg veins send blood up to the heart with the help of contractions in your leg muscles. Valves inside the veins open to send blood toward the heart and close to prevent it from flowing back down the legs. With CVI, weak or damaged valves allow blood to back up in the veins.
Deep vein thrombosis (DVT), or blood clots in leg veins, can damage valves and lead to CVI. When CVI results from these clots, it’s known as post-thrombotic syndrome.
Other factors that increase your risk of CVI include:
Signs and symptoms of CVI can resemble those of other health conditions. Symptoms that you may experience include:
Signs that signal CVI to doctors also include:
Our vascular team usually diagnoses CVI with a physical exam, looking for common signs such as swelling or skin changes. We also ask you about your symptoms and your personal and family health history.
Certified vascular technologists in our nationally accredited vascular testing labs have specialized training and experience with scans we might need for diagnosis. We typically order imaging to assess blood flow and look for blocked veins. Imaging you may need includes:
Our team has expertise in the full range of CVI treatments, including medications, injections and minimally invasive procedures. Our vascular medicine specialists and vascular surgeons work closely with you to decide on the right treatment, based on your specific health needs.
Small lifestyle changes can relieve your symptoms and help prevent complications such as skin ulcers. Our vascular medicine specialists have years of experience helping people develop realistic goals to:
You can take steps on your own to improve the way you feel. We recommend:
Our vascular medicine specialists begin CVI treatment with noninvasive therapies such as medications and injections.
You may need one treatment, or a combination:
If you are experiencing more severe symptoms, our vascular surgeons offer the latest minimally invasive treatments. Your care team has extensive expertise with these outpatient procedures, developed from helping thousands of people. We use safe, effective treatments with little or no downtime.
Minimally invasive procedures close off the affected veins without disrupting blood circulation, because blood goes to other, healthy veins. Many procedures use an endovascular approach, meaning the work takes place inside the veins.
Our minimally invasive treatments include:
For severe CVI that doesn’t respond to other treatments, you may need open surgery. Your surgeon takes a healthy vein from elsewhere in your body and attaches it above and below the diseased section. This operation, vein bypass surgery, sends blood around the damage so it can flow back to the heart.
If you’re at risk of developing clots, you’ll likely need to keep taking blood thinners after initial treatment. Our vascular specialists help you determine how long. They provide ongoing care to protect your health, working to prevent complications such as varicose veins and DVT.
We also check blood flow in your legs at regular intervals, using ultrasound.
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