Medical
The Vein Center Makes Feeling Good Easier
Go with the Flow P
AIN, FATIGUE, SWELLING AND GENERAL discomfort in the lower extremities of the body are no laughing matter – and yet many people who suffer from venous disease go untreated. In fact, according to
Dr. Tomas R. Wieters of Te Vein Center in Mount Pleasant, out of the 30+ million affected, only about 1.9 million seek help. “Venous disease is among the most misunderstood entities in medicine,” remarked Dr. Wieters. “Too many people
BY DENISE K. JAMES
have the notion that vein issues are cosmetic. But this is not simply about looking good in a pair of Bermuda shorts. Tere are underlying medical issues affecting the appearance.” If you thought that Dr. Wieters only sees older folks at Te Vein Center, think again. He was swift to mention that venous issues can happen to people of any age or sex. His youngest patient was an athlete in her 20s – “Her family still keeps in touch,” he said – and his oldest patient was a 95-year-old gentleman who had just finished a game of tennis. And what exactly can cause blood flow problems?
Heredity, pregnancy and working on your feet a lot are the culprits. According to Dr. Wieters, he treats plenty of nurses, teachers, restaurant servers and those in any profession that requires standing for long periods of time. His patient base is made up of about 80 percent women and about 20 percent men. Until recently, there were not too many options for ridding the body of these troublemaker veins. Many women wore stockings, and many people opted for a surgery called vein stripping as well. According to Dr. Wieters, the procedures that are now available at The Vein Center are “a quantum leap beyond what we had before.” “Venous disease was commonly underdiagnosed and undertreated due to lack of interest on the part of providers and reluctance to undergo procedures on the
Dr. Thomas R. Wieters treats plenty of nurses, teachers, restaurant servers and those in any profession that requires standing for long periods of time.
part of patients,” he said. Another notable move in the right direction for
battling venous disease is a drug newly approved by the Food and Drug Administration known as Varithena. Te drug, which will be available at Te Vein Center in 2014, is a less invasive method of treating some vein inefficiencies. “It will be a technology that allows us to treat the
entire system with a chemical so there’s no recovery time at all,” explained Dr. Wieters. Dr. Wieters was careful to point out that larger veins may still need additional treatment. Still, what goes on at Te Vein Center is a vast improvement over vein- stripping surgeries – think of the new catheter treatment as “rerouting” blood flow so that it travels along healthy veins, while unhealthy veins are sealed off. And because Te Vein Center treats the underlying causes of the problem known as venous inefficiency, most nationwide insurance companies cover the catheter-based procedures. “Te procedure takes about 20 to 25 minutes,” Dr.
Wieters pointed out. “You essentially go home with a band aid and go to work the next day.”
To find out more about The Vein Center, visit www.
TheVeinCenterCharleston.com, or call (843) 881-VEIN.
www.MountPleasantPhysicians.com |
www.CharlestonPhysicians.com |
www.SummervillePhysicians.com
Photo by Brian Sherman.
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