Venous Disease

Varicose veins are a very common problem, generally appearing as twisting, bulging rope-like cords on the legs. Varicose veins affect an estimated 40% of women and 25% of men.

More than 80% of vein disease is genetic. Other Factors leading to varicose veins include gender, pregnancy, age, and other factors. Some factors may speed up the development of this disease and make the veins worse, including prolonged standing, obesity, hormone levels, and physical trauma.

In addition to the visual appearance, many patients may experience pain (an aching or cramping feeling), heaviness and Tiredness, skin discoloration, burning or tingling sensations, swelling and throbbing, tender areas around the veins. 

If vein disease left untreated it may lead to more serious complications including Inflammation (phlebitis), blood clots (e.g., DVT), ankle sores or skin ulcers and bleeding.

More than 50% of all women will develop varicose vein disease over the course of their life. However, 40% of all men will develop it as well.

Since women have hormonal changes, such as pregnancy and menopause, their veins become worse. This is why more women than men seek treatment for vein disease.

Spider veins are small red, blue or purple veins that appear near the surface of the skin. It's estimated that at least 30 percent of the adult female suffer from this problem. People often seek treatment for spider veins because of cosmetic concern. However, it is also common for spider veins to cause symptoms, such as aching, heaviness, itching and cramps.

Certain factors contribute to the development of spider veins, including heredity, pregnancy, hormonal factors, weight gain, occupations or activities that require prolonged sitting or standing, and trauma.

Spider veins may be isolated or associated with larger underlying varicose veins. If they are associated with underlying feeding veins, then these feeding veins need to be treated first in order to have good results. If the spider veins are isolated (no feeding vessels), then laser or sclerotherapy will be sufficient.

Vein finder technique (special illumination devices) are used to find out if there are underlying feeding veins causing the spider veins and to determine the course of your treatment.

Sclerotherapy is the injection of an FDA approved medication (Sotradecol and Asclera) into a visible vein to make it disappear or less noticeable. It works by irritating the inside lining of the vein so that the vein seals close, causing the vein to gradually dissolve over several weeks. Sclerotherapy takes about 20-30 minutes and can be used to treat spider veins, reticular and varicose veins. Most people need a few treatments to obtain the best results. Compression stockings are usually worn for two weeks after treatment. 

We most often recommend against using hypertonic saline (Saline Sclerotherapy) as it causes much more discomfort and burning sensation during treatment and has a significantly higher risk of causing skin ulceration should it be injected outside of the treated veins.

EVLT is performed to treat the large deeper veins (underlying problem) and it is an alternative to the old fashion treatment "vein stripping".

Laser spider vein therapy treats the small spider veins on the surface of the skin.

Our doctor will decide if an ultrasound is recommended to rule out an underlying vein problem before you proceed with a laser which will need to be addressed before the spider veins are treated.

After your consultation with the vein specialist, it will be determined if your vein treatment will be considered "medically necessary" and covered by insurance. Typically, If you complain of leg discomfort, aching or swelling, your condition will be considered "medically necessary"

If your vein treatment is not covered by insurance, you will be offered interest-free payment options.

All vein treatments are performed at our clinic and are minimally invasive.

Patients can resume normal activities immediately after the procedure and will be able to walk and drive right after.

When considering vein treatment, you will have many choices. However, many health providers could perform some vein treatment to some degree, however, they are not all well qualified to be a vein specialist. Your best bet is to consider a vascular surgeon since they are well trained and qualified to diagnose and treat vein disease. In addition, they can offer you several minimally invasive vein treatment options compared to a physician without a surgical background who might do one vein treatment and then refer you somewhere else for the other vein treatments.

Dr. Jarrous is a board-certified cardiovascular surgeon with over ten years of experience. He was one of the first surgeons in Amarillo to establish a specialized stand-alone vein clinic and to date, he has performed the largest number of vein procedures in the panhandle with great results.

At Amarillo Laser & Vein Clinic, all aspect of vein disease treatments are available, from spider veins to symptomatic large varicose veins and venous ulcerations. As a result, the patient will have their vein treatment completed in one clinic.