A Case of Swollen, Aching Legs

November 13, 2018
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Osceolawoman2017
Posted in Health and Medical
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A couple months ago, a mom of three, who is a full-time nurse and enjoys outdoor activities, visited Hannum Vascular Clinic to seek relief from swelling and cramping sensations in her legs. She expressed her desire to spend more time with her family after work, but at the end of a workday, her legs and feet would be so swollen and painful it reminded her of when she was pregnant. She couldn’t wait to get home to elevate her legs. She mentioned her mother also suffered with the same symptoms and had large ropey veins on her legs.

After the initial consult at Hannum Vascular Clinic, she was setup for an in-office ultrasound to evaluate her leg veins and arteries and properly diagnose her. Her ultrasound revealed a common condition in her veins called, Chronic Venous Insufficiency. This condition affects over 30 million people in the USA, majority being women. As blood flows through a vein, cup-like valves open to allow blood through, then close to prevent backflow, which pushes blood towards the heart. Due to a variety of factors including hereditary, previous pregnancies, weight gain, and trauma, the cup-like valves no longer close as tight as they once did, causing the blood to leak back down towards the lower leg and feet. This can cause bulging varicose veins and spider veins, swelling, aching, restless legs at night, tingling sensations, and sometimes non-healing sores on the legs and feet.

After the lady was educated on the disease and treatment options available, she decided to have the vein closure procedure. This minimally invasive treatment uses radio-frequency and/or laser ablation, is performed in-office, covered by majority of insurance plans, and requires no down time for recovery. Many years ago, the way to treat veins was by vein-stripping, a much more complicated, risky surgical procedure. Medical technology is far more advanced these days.

During the vein closure procedure, a patient is awake the entire time and in a relaxed and comfortable environment. Dr. Hannum administers a numbing agent, to provide an added level of comfort. The procedure is complete within an hour and the patient walks out of the room with a compression dressing. Majority of patients express great satisfaction for how much better their legs and feet feel.

When the lady retuned for her follow-up visit, she said she is now able to spend more time doing the things she loves like jogging, bike riding, and playing with her kids. Sounds like a great future is lined up for her and her family!

Are you one of the millions of women hiding your legs because of bulging varicose veins and spider veins? Or, do you sometimes skip out on activities because of leg pain? Visit our website at to learn more.

Scott Hannum, DO, Vascular Surgeon