For several years, Guadalupe López suffered from excessive ankle pain. She worked for a long time packing oranges and about four years ago she had a burst vein in her ankle while she was sleeping and she had to be taken to the hospital in an emergency.
“I had a hole about the size of a straw and they covered it up but over time it scabbed over and I was afraid it would fall out and bleed again,” López said.
The pain had intensified over time and her ankles had turned dark as with bruises. She could no longer stand for long periods and if she did she would begin to feel burning sensations in her ankles.
Worried and in pain, she tried to get help from her family doctor who referred her to a specialist who charged her an exorbitant amount and did not accept her medical plan.
López was desperate and could not cope with so much pain. Her daughter searched for information on the internet and found the Advanced Vein Center, a clinic specializing in vein problems.
Lopez said that when they arrived they treated her very well, making an appointment for her first procedure, which was a month ago.
At the end of the procedure, the certified doctor in venous and lymphatic medicine, Matthew Wise, told him to go for a walk to see how he felt.
“I didn’t feel any pain. At first I thought it was because it numbs your veins a little bit and that later the pain would come back, but no, it was like a miracle, since then my ankle hasn’t hurt, “said López. “Until now I am so happy and I thank God that he put him in my path because he helped me so much.”
The patient said that best of all, the treatment is costing her less than half of what she was charged at the hospital.
“And there they were only going to do one ankle, here with Dr. Wise they did both. Besides, I have vein problems in one of my legs and they are treating me for all of that, ”he asserted.
Causes and solutions
Dr. Wise said that there is a wide spectrum of diseases that cause chronic venous disease. These can be as simple as spider veins, varicose veins—the large bulging veins that bulge through the skin—or varicose veins that have not been treated for many years and can begin to develop skin disorders.
“People with more advanced varicose vein disease may develop swelling of the skin that can cause hyperpigmentation, or a sort of brown discoloration of the skin,” Wise said. “They can also develop scars, firmness of the skin and in the worst cases the most serious disease that constitutes chronic venous disease, which are chronic venous ulcers, the ulceration of the skin that usually forms on the inside of the leg. just above the ankle.
Dr. Wise said that the number one cause of veins is hereditary. If one of the parents has varicose veins, women have a 62% chance of developing varicose veins and men have a 25% chance.
If both parents have varicose veins, the children have a 90% chance of developing varicose veins.
“Other risk factors are older age, pregnancy, so the more pregnancies a woman has, the more risk she has of varicose veins with the next pregnancy,” Wise said. “If she has a job that requires a lot of standing or sitting and the two risk factors that are called modifiable risk factors are body weight and tobacco use.”
Wise said technology has advanced greatly and while 20 years ago extensive surgery had to be done in hospital, new minimally invasive methods have been discovered with general anesthesia and a long recovery time.
“So now these are procedures that can be done in a clinical setting. We do not use general anesthesia, we only use local anesthesia. And patients go back to their fairly normal activities, either that same day or the next day,” explained the doctor.
She added that because venous disease is a chronic disease, problems that affect the moment can be corrected, but the veins may return in other places, depending on genes, lifestyle, pregnancy history, among other things.
“It’s not uncommon for a patient to come back two years, three years, or 10 years later with a new complaint of varicose veins, but typically it wouldn’t be the same spot healed because we’re closing or removing that specific problem when they come into our clinic,” assured.
The clinic, located in Orange County, has staff who speak Spanish and attend to you immediately. In addition, they accept all major PPO insurance plans, and offer highly competitive prices on cash patient service packages, they also work with CareCredit to offer several extended zero interest programs. To learn more about the Advanced Vein Center clinic visit: https://ocveinmd.com/
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