Got Varicose Veins? Come in for Consultation

Do you have veins on your legs that you are concerned about? If you have symptoms such as spider veins, varicose veins, swollen feet and ankles, leg heaviness or restless legs, you should seek help from a Phlebologist, a doctor who specializes in veins. At Morrison Vein Institute, veins are our life, as we have specialized in only that for over 16 years. Dr Morrison, co-founder of Morrison Vein Institute, is a world-renowned Phlebology expert. You will find our physicians’ combined century of experience very valuable when it comes to your leg health. Come in for a consultation and find out how we can treat your varicose veins, spider veins, and vein disease in our office, not in a hospital.

During your initial consultation, a RN trained in Phlebology, will determine whether your veins are cosmetic or medical, and teach you why you have veins in the first place. Morrison Vein Institute will guide you through necessary steps to maintain long-term outcomes for healthy legs. Our expert staff will teach you about vein disease, state-of-the-art treatments for your unique situation, and how to prevent missteps. With the right information, you can make the right choice! The consultation is only $25, why wouldn’t you come in?

A Woman’s Story

One patient’s story about her leg veins, pelvic veins, and vaginal veins…

Heather wrote, “I was very familiar with varicose veins as a young girl because my mother had very large clusters of veins on the insides of both her legs and she had large scars down both her legs from where her veins were surgically stripped in the hospital after one of her pregnancies. My mom’s sisters also had varicose veins and my Mom made it clear that I would likely have that issue, too. I was 14 years old when I noticed my first varicose vein on the back of my right calf. I can also remember a friend in high school pointing out the enlarged veins in my ankles. I remember only wearing long shorts in high school and college because I had started to develop larger veins on the back of my thighs. By my early 20’s, I only exposed my legs when I had to. Long dresses, long skirts, and pants were my preferred style of dress because of my veins. I was embarrassed and self-conscious about my leg veins, but I did everything I knew to keep them from getting worse including wearing support hose(not medical grade though), exercising daily, and not crossing my legs or standing/sitting for too long.

After starting my teaching career in 1994, I decided to find out if there was anything I could do about my veins. They not only looked horrible, but had become extremely painful and achy especially during my period. I found it uncomfortable to stand or sit for more than ten or fifteen minutes at a time. I found a vein doctor in Scottsdale(I don’t recall his name) and made an appointment for consultation in early 1995(I was 24). The only thing that I remember about that appointment is that he told me that one of my legs was, “a three baby leg” which I believe meant that my legs looked like what a woman’s would look like after three pregnancies. He also told me that he only did procedures on women who were positive that they were finished having children. That was a very difficult day for me because I knew then that it would be years before I would be able to get my veins treated.

Life went on and I eventually got married at 30 and had my twin girls not long after. I wore compression hose for a good portion of my pregnancy, but they did little to ease the pain. Towards the end of my pregnancy, the only time my legs felt relief was in the pool.

After my twins were born, my husband and I decided we were done having children so I started to research vein treatments on the internet. This was mid-2003 and there were a number of places that offered vein treatment, but most were limited to visual injections(lots of cosmetic vein places, even ob/gyn offices were offering vein injections as a side business) Through my research, I realized that I needed a place that specialized in severe cases like mine. I wanted a doctor that specialized only in vein disease. I settled on Morrison Vein Institute and had a consultation with Dr. Morrison. I was very nervous and anxious, but hopeful about this appointment. Dr. Morrison and his staff were knowledgable, warm and understanding. Dr. Morrison outlined a plan to treat my veins and that included bi-lateral VNUS Closure, ambulatory phlebectomy, and ultrasound-guided injections. I started the process in early 2004 and while the treatments were painful the first week or two(I think I did the VNUS procedure and phlebectomies pretty close together). All of the treatments were well worth it. By the summer of 2004, I felt like I had a new pair of legs. I had virtually no pain, achiness, or throbbing. I was wearing shorts daily for the first time in my adult life and I loved it. Even though I had developed spider veins as a result of some of the procedures, they did not bother me either cosmetically (it’s all relative though, right?) or physically.

I had hoped that I would be one of the patients who did not have recurring veins, but I was not. After waiting a little too long, I returned in 2009 for treatment. My veins weren’t as severe, but still required a phlebectomy, VNUS closure on the small saphenous veins and more USG injections.

Before I became pregnant, I had also developed labial varicose veins. I had one in particular that became quite enlarged during the later stages of my pregnancy. It did decrease a little bit after the girls were born, but continued to be very painful. Over the years, my labial veins had continued to get worse even when I had no pain in my legs. When I went for Pap smears, doctors and PA’s would point out one particularly protruding labial varicose vein and ask me if it bothered me, but no one ever suggested treatment. During my return to Dr. Morrison in 2009, I became comfortable enough with Diana, my ultrasound tech, to ask if there was any treatment for them. She helped me to address the issue with Dr. Morrison and we discussed what course I would need to take to address those veins. First, I went for a pelvic ultrasound to look at what issues were going on. After that, Dr. Morrison decided to try to treat the main source of the problem by going up toward the pelvis through the leg veins and Dr. Morrison’s wife, Terri, injected the superficial labial veins. It was obviously more invasive and embarrassing than any of the procedures that I’d had up to that point, but everyone that I dealt with was so empathetic and understanding and helped me to feel comfortable. I was so glad to have had that kind of environment to feel comfortable not only bringing up the problem but then continuing treatment for the issue. I had to have Terri treat my labial veins more than once and she was wonderful. I have almost no pain or pressure at all any more in my labial area and the one large varicose vein I had in that area is gone.

I have learned several lessons through my varicose vein treatments over the years. First, and this really extends to anyone seeking medical treatment, it is important to do your own research and be your own advocate for care. For years, I went to doctors who noted my severe varicose veins. A few asked me about them, but not one suggested treatment of any kind. Second, choose a vein doctor who specializes in medical treatment of veins. I knew from my research leading up to my consultation and then after my consultation that Dr. Morrison was absolutely the right doctor to treat me. He was competent and capable. He explained every procedure to me, why he was doing what he was doing, and what results I would expect to see. He helped me understand my vein disease. On top of that, his staff is amazing. Every person I encounter at Morrison Vein is helpful and knowledgeable and goes out of their way to make me feel comfortable. They all seem to care about their patients. This warm, caring atmosphere helped me feel comfortable to ask more questions and pursue treatment for my labial veins. Finally, I learned to stay on top of my vein disease. I made the mistake of thinking(hoping, wishing) that I could get rid of my veins once and for all and not have to return for treatment. I was told very clearly by the nurses and Dr. Morrison to return for follow up treatment, but I was hoping that I’d be one of the lucky ones who do not have recurring veins. Fortunately, when I did return, I was warmly welcomed and if there was a well-deserved, “I told you so,” it was done in a very kind way. I have been doing a much better job of staying on top of my treatment to keep my vein disease under control.”

Thank you Heather for your heartfelt story! I know so many people who will relate.

Varicose Veins?

There are misconceptions related to varicose veins, explains Charles Rogers, MD, of the Morrison Vein Institute. “People think they have varicose veins because they’ve been sitting too long or they’ve had a leg injury, but it is largely passed down from their parents,” he said. “They’re also not aware that leg fatigue, night cramps, restless legs, ankle veins, and ankle swelling are often symptoms of varicose veins, as is generalized leg aching, even without bulging veins.”

Varicose veins are veins that no longer function correctly because of faulty valves. This is referred to as venous insufficiency. The enlarged veins may or may not bulge above the skin’s surface. They are most commonly found on the backs of the calves or on the inside of the leg, and are more prevalent among women than men.

Varicose veins are formed because veins have valves that act as one-way flaps. These valves stop blood from flowing backward as it moves up the legs. If a one-way valve becomes weak, blood can leak back down the leg, going the wrong direction in the vein. The blood slows down and increases pressure on the vein, causing it to enlarge and become incompetent.

Often the veins don’t even bulge, but they still can cause serious problems, Dr. Morrison cautioned. The problems are on the inside and out of sight. “If bulging doesn’t happen, there are other symptoms to look for,” he said. “The vein area may itch, hurt or ache. Some times there are ‘rings’ around the tops of where your socks hit that may indicate swelling from varicose veins. Varicose veins can even cause restless leg syndrome or ‘ulcers’ on your legs that just won’t heal.”

To diagnose varicose veins, we use a specific venous Doppler duplex ultrasound for diagnosis and vein mapping. This will give us a specific treatment plan unique to each patient. “Again, a lot of times the veins don’t bulge, so an ultrasound is critical to the diagnosis,” Dr. Rogers said.

Although people in their golden years seem to suffer from this malady the most, Morrison’s youngest varicose vein patient was 15 years old and his oldest was 92. “The 92-year-old woman was told she needed to have her leg amputated because the ulcers hadn’t healed for four years,” he recalled. “We did the procedure and her ulcer started to heal within two weeks.”

Vein Treatments-Old & New

In the old days, when Nick Morrison, MD, performed varicose vein removal, “the treatment was often worse than the disease.”

For years the standard operating procedure to treat varicose veins was called stripping, explained Rogers . “The veins were cut out while the patient was under general anesthesia for over four hours,” he said. “The risk of complications from anesthesia for that long appears to be about 1,000 times higher than doing the procedure under local anesthetic as we do now.”

With the advent of radiofrequency VNUS Closure, ultrasound-guided foam sclerotherapy, Ambulatory Phlebectomy and endovenous lasers, we have new treatments that are done using only oral valium or a local anesthetic, which enables the patient to walk out of the office immediately after the procedure. None of the new procedures are done in the hospital, they are all minimally invasive and done in a doctors office.

Endovenous Laser Ablation is a minimally invasive method for treating varicose veins, under a local anesthetic, using laser energy to shrink and collapse the vein.

The MD team at the Morrison Vein Institute has done more than 4,000 endovenous thermal ablations in the last 11 years and more than 60,000 vein procedures in the last 15 years.

“There’s nothing more satisfying for me as a physician to help someone like this,” Dr Morrison insisted. “For traditional varicose vein surgery, a person couldn’t work for two to three weeks afterwards. Now, the patient is awake and comfortable while the procedure is going on. We have them walking right after the endovenous thermal ablation procedure, and they can return to work the next day, if they want to. The improvements start the first day and get better with each step of the treatment plan.”

Pregnant? New Veins on your Legs?

Congratulations on your pregnancy! Whether this is your first or the latest of a few pregnancies, I’m sure you know that this is a time of change for your body. Morrison Vein Institute can, and would like to be of real help if you have noticed uncomfortable changes in the veins in your legs.
Are your legs feeling heavy, tired or ache at the end of the day? Do you have swollen ankles or feet at the end of the day? Are you noticing new leg veins or bigger veins? If so, you are not alone. Perhaps even your mom, your grandmother, or one of your aunts has varicose veins. The tendency is hereditary. Varicose veins are a very common disorder in women (about 25% of all women), and are definitely worsened by pregnancy. Vein disease is a progressive disease and can be affected by hormones, especially the hormones of pregnancy. Additionally, in pregnancy, your circulating blood volume increases, and you have the pressure of a large gravid uterus! These together can not only cause discomfort in your veins and legs, but also….stretching of your veins and lasting damage to your leg’s venous valve system. This can result in lasting, unsightly veins, uncomfortable legs and a higher risk of a deep venous thrombosis (blood clot).

Please call 480-860-6455 and schedule a visit in Tempe or Scottsdale with a carefully trained Phlebology RN (vein nurse) to talk with you about your support stocking likes and needs. The visit costs $25. She will also offer you a lot of information about natural ways to protect your legs. The visit is a wonderful investment in your comfort, in your long term appearance and in your vascular health.

Don’t be Spooked by Varicose veins!

Do you have spider veins or varicose veins that you hate to look at? Have you been staring at them and wondering what to do?  Did you know you could get rid of varicose veins? Are you spooked about the process of getting rid of them?

If you answered yes to any of the questions above, then you should come to Morrison Vein Institute. You don’t have to live with those unsightly or painful veins anymore. The MD’s at Morrison Vein Institute have been getting rid of unsightly veins for over 16 years. Call 1-866-GRT-LEGS today and come in for a $25 consultation. It will be the best money you ever spent.

Men Have Veins Too

It’s true, 25% of men have vein disease by the time they are 50 years of age. Most men either don’t notice veins on their legs, or the veins are not painful, so they tend to ignore them. Varicose veins are bulging veins that stick out on your legs. Because men are not bothered by varicose veins, they wait way too long to have their veins treated. Some men end up with leg discoloration or ulcers, because they don’t see a vein doctor early, when the veins, or related symptoms, begin to appear. If you, or a man you know, has restless leg, tired aching legs, swollen ankles, bulging varicose veins, discoloration on your legs, or even erectile dysfunction, it may be vein disease. Find a board certified Phlebologist, doctor who specializes in veins and vein disease, in your area and make an appointment for a consult today. Don’t wait, your health is worth it.

Veins?!?!

Do you have purple, blue, green or bulging veins on your legs, hands or face? These veins are typically referred to as spider veins or varicose veins.  The Morrison Vein Institute is a medical practice with Board Certified Doctors that specialize in these unsightly and maybe even painful veins. Let the experts help you.

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Embarrassed to wear shorts?

Are you wearing jeans in the summer to cover the veins on your legs? Why are you suffering through another summer, sweating in pants?

This is not just a cosmetic issue, you could have a medical condition that will worsen with time. Don’t wait until you have discoloration on your legs, an ulcer, or worse, a blood clot.

Would you go to the doctor if you had a tooth ache or an ear ache? Of course you would, so why won’t you go to the doctor if you have leg pain, discomfort, etc?

Make an appointment for a consultation to have your veins looked at. It doesn’t hurt, and it is worth it. You will feel so much better once you are armed with knowledge about veins and vein disease, knowing you are not alone.

Why be embarrassed about your legs for the rest of your life? All of the treatments for veins are minimally-invasive and done in a doctor’s office.

Do your research! Find a Board Certified Phlebologist who specializes in veins only!

Stop covering up your legs!

Did you give up wearing shorts or skirts because you are embarrassed about the veins on your legs? Don’t hide your legs anymore. Have your veins treated, then you will have healthy legs and feel good about the way they look too. You are not vane for wanting your veins fixed!

Varicose veins and spider veins are not just cosmetic. You may have underlying medical issues. Don’t wait, see a Phlebologist today! You wouldn’t put off going to the doctor if you had an ear infection or a bad tooth would you? No, so don’t put off your leg health either.