Sorry I put off varicose vein and venous leg ulcer treatment

HERE’S HER STORY:

Magdalena, a 63-year-old retired woman that has lived with painful varicose veins and CVI since the 1970’s. She had vein stripping in the 1970’s and laser thermal ablation in 2010 which both left her traumatized and fearful of any further treatment.  In late August, 2016 she reached a point where she had several ruptured varicose veins on her right leg, had chronic wounds draining a yellowish fluid from her left leg, and both legs severely hurt to the point she awoke every night. She was unable to walk unassisted as the leg pain was too severe, requiring her to use a wheelchair and walker to get around. She rarely left the house except for wound care.

She was referred to Jilanne Rose at Advanced Vein Institute by a friend who told her there are new and better alternatives to painful vein stripping. She met with Jilanne for over an hour and had an ultrasound done of both legs.  She stated that she learned a lot the day of her appointment:  (1) She didn’t have to live with this situation and (2) treatment options may have minimal if any pain. Jilanne treated the ruptured varicose veins on the right leg during the first visit, and recommended further intervention as soon as possible to expedite healing of the longstanding ulcerations.

Magdalena returned to AVIA four weeks later and Jilanne suggested several vein ablation treatments following the very successful injections on the right leg. Magdalena expressed that she wished she had sought treatment years ago! After a lengthy discussion with Magdalena’s daughter and Magdalena regarding alternatives of treatment including thermal ablation, she decided to proceed with ablation treatment. Magdalena’s first treatment, RFA, was performed on 10/11 and she subsequently had six EVLT’s over the next two weeks. 

Here are the procedures she had:

• Sclerotherapy to close the ruptured varicosity.
• RFA – Radiofrequency Ablation
• EVLT – Endovenous Laser Ablation Treatment

After sclerotherapy, vein ablation and compression stocking use:

Magdalena expressed that the procedures were minimally painful and did not take too much time in the office. She was very pleased that she did not have to go to the hospital and was walking right after the procedures. At Magdalena’s one week post-op visit, her pain level was 4 out of 10 and it had been 10 out of 10 prior to any treatment.  She began walking more and using walking aids less. At one-month follow-up, everything looked great, her wounds from the bleeding varicose veins were closed and healing nicely, and her legs were starting to “feel normal.” Most importantly, she regained her independence as she did not need to rely on friends and family to get around, or have the need for someone to change her dressings multiple times per day for her venous leg ulcers.

At her two month follow-up, Magdalena expressed that her activities of daily living had significantly improved, she was able to stand for long periods of time, and has very little pain in either legs. Jilanne recommended that they let things continue to heal and to continue use of conservative therapies.

At her five month follow-up, Magdalena continued to improve and was very pleased with the results. There were still several veins that need ablation in order to treat all of the varicose veins but the change in her life “has been astonishing.” Magdalena stated, “I highly recommend calling Advanced Vein Institute to anyone who has put off treatment based on fear or anxiety. To go from wheelchair bound to driving myself around has given me my freedom back.”

Thank you to Magdalena for sharing your experience with us and our patients. 

*Patient’s name was changed to protect patient confidentiality.

Call today if you’ve been putting off treatment or have feared having your legs examined. You don’t have to live with the pain – varicose vein pain relief is right around the corner!

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