The Vein Dr. in TX Answers Your Vein Disease Questions
Dr. Polina Kyriakides: the Vein Dr. in TX
Dr. Polina Kyriakides is widely considered one of the leading vein doctors in Texas, with close to 20 years of experience. She specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of chronic venous insufficiency, the root cause of most vein problems, including spider veins and varicose veins. Besides being incredibly skilled and talented, Dr. Kyriakides is also known for her excellent bedside manners and compassionate attitude.
Dr. Kyriakides has an exceptional educational background. She completed her residency training at the University of Minnesota, specializing in the latest minimally invasive spider vein and varicose vein treatments to replace surgeries. She also worked at the prestigious Johns Hopkins University and the University of Texas in New Jersey for over ten years, where she honed her skills further.
Dr. Kyriakides treats all patients as if they’re family members, recommending the ideal treatments to solve their problems with minimal discomfort. She believes vein disease affects a large number of people, but it often goes underdiagnosed because of the lack of awareness of vein problems. She says most people can’t identify the signs and symptoms of vein disease, so they don’t seek treatment until vein disease advances considerably.
You can find Dr. Kyriakides at our state-of-the-art spider vein and varicose vein treatment center at 2900 Weslayan St Suite 650, New Jersey, TX. You may also continue reading to learn more about spider veins, varicose veins, venous insufficiency, and vein treatments.
What are spider veins and varicose veins?
Spider veins are dense clusters of blood vessels that appear on the skin’s surface. They look like a network of blue, red, or purple spider webs expanding outwards from a central location. Varicose veins are large blood vessels that protrude out of the skin’s surface, resembling a mass of tangled, twisted, and knotted ropes. Spider veins and varicose veins are essentially damaged blood vessels with excessive blood accumulation.
How do you prevent varicose veins and spider veins?
There’s no way to prevent varicose veins and spider veins with certainty. That’s because varicose veins and spider veins can occur due to numerous potential risk factors, such as genetic predisposition, pregnancy, age, biological sex (female), hormone therapy, weight gains, and occupations that demand long periods of sitting or standing still. If you fall into these risk factors, you have a high risk of varicose veins and spider veins.
However, while you can’t prevent varicose veins and spider veins with certainty, you can reduce the risk of vein disease by following these tips:
- Wear compression stockings all the time to facilitate optimal blood circulation.
- Engage in cardiovascular exercises that increase blood circulation and engage calf muscles, such as running, swimming, cycling, and yoga.
- If you have a desk job, get up regularly for short walking breaks.
- Elevate your legs above your heart’s level to facilitate blood flow towards the heart.
- Drink plenty of water to remain hydrated, improve blood circulation, and strengthen vein walls.
What causes vein problems?
Chronic venous insufficiency is the primary root cause of most vein problems, including spider veins and varicose veins. Venous insufficiency is a medical condition wherein your vein valves collapse or malfunction. In healthy veins, the valves act as one-way doors facilitating optimal blood circulation towards the heart. When your vein valves malfunction, blood flows backward due to gravity and accumulates in the leg veins, eventually leading to spider veins and varicose veins.
What are the signs and symptoms of vein disease?
Spider veins and varicose veins are the most visible signs of vein disease. However, to stop venous insufficiency at its earliest stage, you need to identify the early warning signs of vein disease. The earliest signs and symptoms of vein disease include leg heaviness, restless leg syndrome, frequent leg cramps, leg swelling, leg pain, and skin discoloration. If left untreated, you may eventually experience skin disease, leg ulcers, and deep vein thrombosis (blood clots).
What happens if I don’t treat vein disease?
If you don’t treat vein disease, you may experience the following complications:
- Skin Discoloration: The lack of effective blood circulation will lead to skin discoloration.
- Skin Disease: The breakdown of blood cells in your legs will make your skin appear red, rust-colored, leathery, and patchy.
- Leg Ulcers: The lack of effective blood circulation will prevent your wounds from healing, which will lead to non-healing wounds on the legs.
- Deep Vein Thrombosis: The accumulated blood in your leg veins may eventually form blood clots. These blood clots can potentially break away and travel to the lungs, leading to a potentially fatal pulmonary embolism.
How do vein doctors diagnose vein disease?
Vein doctors use vascular imaging tests, such as duplex ultrasound to visualize the blood flow in your leg veins. Backward blood circulation and accumulated blood in leg veins indicate chronic venous insufficiency.
What are the best minimally invasive varicose vein treatments?
The best minimally invasive vein treatments include radiofrequency ablation, endovenous laser ablation, and venaseal. These procedures use thermal energy, laser energy, or medical adhesives to destroy or seal the diseased vein’s walls, rerouting the accumulated blood into healthier leg veins. Ambulatory phlebectomy is performed after the primary vein treatment — this procedure involves the physical extraction of varicose veins through small incisions on the skin’s surface.
What’s the recovery period after varicose vein treatments?
Minimally invasive varicose vein treatments don’t involve downtime or an extended recovery period. You may have to avoid strenuous workouts and swimming for a few days, and you’ll have to wear compression stockings, but you can resume all daily activities and work immediately after the vein treatment.
Book a Consultation
Scheduling a consultation with one of our vein treatment experts is one of the best ways to determine the proper resolution for your varicose veins. The treatments can include sclerotherapy, laser or radiofrequency ablation, a medication called Varithena, or procedures such as Venaseal, or Clarivein.
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