From the Shopper-News
Until recently, Ashlea Daniel hid her legs. “I was so self-conscious that I avoided skirts and shorts,” says the 31-year-old mother of two. “People would notice the blue spots and bulging veins on my legs. The veins looked like snakes running down my legs!”
What started as spider veins when Daniel was a teenager became huge varicose veins after two pregnancies. And as a nurse practitioner, standing all day made it worse.
The veins not only looked bad, they hurt. “They would swell, burn and itch,” remembers Daniel. “It was very painful.”
She turned to vascular surgeon Donald L. Akers, Jr., M.D., FACS, at the Premier Vein Clinics for help. Over several months, Dr. Akers treated Daniel’s legs with Endovenous Laser Therapy (EVLT) and sclerotherapy. Both are non-invasive procedures that are performed in the Premier Vein Clinics office in less than an hour.
EVLT uses laser energy to heat and close off larger veins without surgery. During sclerotherapy, a solution is injected into spider veins that make them shrink and collapse over time.
Dr. Akers says even though these simple procedures do improve varicose and spider veins, they aren’t a “quick fix” that will make sixty-year old legs suddenly look eighteen again.
“I tell patients ‘this will help your varicose veins, but it won’t cure them,'” says Dr. Akers. “You can’t have the treatment and go back to sitting on your couch eating chips all day and expect not to have varicosity again.”
Dr. Akers stresses that people must be active participants in the long-term care of their legs and overall health. That means exercising, adopting a healthy diet and keeping your weight down.
Daniel agrees. Since her vein treatments she is walking regularly and maintaining a balanced weight and diet. And her legs look and feel great.
“There is absolutely no burning, swelling, or itching now,” she reports. “I’m very pleased with the results and can’t wait to be in shorts and skirts this summer!”
For more information about vein treatment options, please call (865) 588-8229 or visit premierveinclinics.com.