Varicose Veins and Spider Vein Issues In The News:

A Tampa Bay, Florida vein treatment practice is re-opening its virtual doors and bringing a new look to internet visitors. Using a variety of innovative web tools, patients considering cosmetic enhancement and dermatology procedures are getting comprehensive information in a futuristic way from the Vein & Cosmetic Center of Tampa Bay.
(Vocus) July 10, 2009 — The Vein & Cosmetic Center of Tampa Bay, a Florida cosmetic dermatology and plastic surgery practice, is reaching out to patients with a comprehensive new website that utilizes the latest tools of the internet. The new site is designed to give web visitors an abundance of information on the practice, its doctors and staff, and the procedures they offer by way of web video documentaries, graphic animations, patient testimonials, an updated blog, and detailed descriptions of treatment options. Offering spider and varicose vein treatments and plastic cosmetic surgery in Tampa Bay and surrounding areas, the Vein & Cosmetic Center, along with its Stunning Looks™ Medi Spa, is hoping to provide prospective patients with a virtual tour of its practice as well as give them hope that many dermatological conditions can be significantly improved.

The Vein & Cosmetic Center of Tampa Bay comes under the leadership of Dr. Jeffrey Hunt, a Tampa Bay vein specialist in practice for nearly 20 years. Dr. Hunt, working in collaboration with medical and plastic surgery website design firm Rosemont Media®, developed the new website to provide visitors with not only an accurate reflection of his practice, but also to be an example of a technologically advanced site that is user-friendly and conveys detailed information so that patients can have a better idea of what procedures entail. Dr. Hunt says this information is useful for web visitors to understand the level of commitment the Vein & Cosmetic Center has in seeing that patients achieve their ultimate goals. “With the new types of technologies available, we can now tighten the skin, erase pigmentation spots, resurface the skin to help with fine lines and wrinkles, add injectable fillers to help with sagging, and put normal volume back in the face. The combination of all these new procedures that are available allows us to custom-fit each particular treatment protocol to what works best for the desires of the individual.”
The Vein & Cosmetic Center of Tampa Bay focuses on treating vein disorders such as spider and varicose veins, as well as offering an array of cosmetic skin enhancement procedures – including BOTOX® Cosmetic, skin pigmentation correction, and laser hair removal. The center also offers a comprehensive list of both surgical and non-surgical plastic cosmetic surgery options, including Cool Lipo® laser liposuction in Florida. In addition to the many areas devoted to explanations of procedures, the new website is equipped with a before-and-after picture gallery, newsletters and specials information, and detailed biographies on Dr. Hunt, board certified plastic surgeon Dr. Christopher J. Schaffer, and Nurse Practitioner Kristen Thornley Walsh, ARNP, MSN.
Dr. Jeffrey Hunt is one of the leading vein specialists in the southeast, having taken part in developing new laser systems and FDA-sanctioned clinical trials to treat a variety of skin conditions and spider and varicose vein procedures. The Vein & Cosmetic Center of Tampa Bay utilizes some of the most innovative skin enhancement technologies available, including the CoolTouch Endolaser™, the Harmony Pixel Laser, and intense pulsed light therapy (IPL).
Dr. Hunt hopes the new website will give patients a window into the Vein & Cosmetic Center of Tampa Bay and the Stunning Looks™ Medispa so they can see how the latest treatment options can help them improve their appearance and revitalize their self-esteem.
“We try to offer the most new and innovative techniques that give the best results with very affordable pricing for patients. Our feeling is that we can achieve beauty through science… and we only utilize those technologies that will give us the absolute best response.”

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Varicose Veins and Spider Vein Issues In The News:
This article was posted on: Tuesday, 21 July 2009, it is worth reading. There is a related video pertaining to this article. Here is the link for the full article.
http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/1724112/clotting_in_veins_close_to_skin_could_be_linked_to/index.html?source=r_health

Austrian researchers reported on Monday that close to a quarter of patients who have superficial blood clots on their legs might be at risk for more serious clots deep in their veins.
Varicose veins, oral contraceptives, injuries and cancer can all cause blood clots near the surface of the legs.
Although most cases are not serious, this common condition could be a sign for deep vein thrombosis, which is when blood clots block off the blood flow deep in the veins.
Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) can be deadly if the clots move to the lungs and cause a pulmonary embolism.
Dr. Barbara Binder of the Medical University of Graz, Austria, and colleagues studied 46 patients with superficial vein clots from November 2006 and June 2007.  All had a diagnostic imaging test and other lab tests.
The team found that 24 percent of the patients had deep vein thrombosis, even though most had no other symptoms.
DVT most often occurred with superficial clots in the lower leg.  It occurred in the same leg as the superficial clot in 73 percent of the patients.
“Our study … demonstrates that the risk of a concomitant DVT should not be underestimated,” Binder and colleagues wrote in the Archives of Dermatology.

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Varicose Veins and Spider Veins Topics: This is a short version of a very worthwhile article recently written on vein care.
Link to full article
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/10/health/10SKIN.html?_r=1

By CAMILLE SWEENEY
Published: September 9, 2009

Associated Press
Gian de Stefano
The model Nazanin Homa had laser-assisted sclerotherapy for spider veins in her legs.
“It’s ironic that someone always being looked at under a loupe would have this problem,” Ms. Homa said.
She attributes the map of purple-bluish squiggles on her legs to genetics — her mother and sisters have them — and her modeling career, which involves prolonged periods of time on her feet, often in high heels.
Last spring she had the latest spider vein treatment, laser-assisted sclerotherapy, at the Vein Treatment Center in Manhattan (at $500 for about a half-dozen 30-minute sessions). “For the first time since I was a teen I could bare my legs in a short skirt without feeling self-conscious,” she said.
Spider veins occur mostly on the legs and face. Experts say 75 percent of the population will be affected by the condition, which is also known as telangiectasia. They affect men and women, usually starting in their 40s and 50s. Genetics, sun damage, age and stress are believed to be contributing factors, as are smoking, alcohol, obesity and other underlying conditions, such as rosacea. For women, estrogen surges during pregnancy and hormonal changes brought on by birth control pills can also play a role.
Spider veins are formed when superficial veins near the skin’s surface leak tiny amounts of blood. “The blood branches out into the tissue and forms little points and patterns of discoloration,” said Dr. Luis Navarro, a phlebologist (vein specialist) and the medical director of the Vein Treatment Center in Manhattan, who treated Ms. Homa. “Through treatment we can blanch out these blood vessels that will then fade away and eventually be reabsorbed into the body naturally.”
Although usually not considered a serious medical condition (unlike varicose veins, in which blood is trapped due to valve problems in the veins, often leading to intense discomfort and occasionally rupture), experts say that spider veins may indicate other underlying venous issues, including a sluggish circulatory system.
The condition is common enough to have spawned a global market of creams, serums and concealers that is projected to increase 18 percent this year, according to Taya Tomasello, an analyst at the Mintel International Group, a market research firm. Many of the products are based on the claim that they contain vitamin K, an antihemorrhagic vitamin said to promote blood clotting and therefore reduce the blood seepage and ultimately the appearance of spider veins.
But generally these products do not meet with approval from physicians.
“No studies have been done that have proved their efficacy, or at least not that I know of,” said Dr. Michael Traub, a naturopathic physician in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. “You can’t just put something on the surface of the skin and expect a spider vein to go away, ” Dr. Traub said.
Some topicals, such as Auriderm Clearing Gel, contain a form of vitamin K called vitamin K oxide. “Vitamin K oxide helps rebuild vascular walls and repair damage surrounding them, reducing the appearance of spider veins,” said Elliott Milstein, president of Biopelle, the Michigan-based company that distributes the product. He added that Auriderm is often used as an adjunctive therapy “prior to sclerotherapy to reduce spider veins, or after laser treatment to clean up what the laser may have missed.”
For some, a $50 cream may seem preferable to spending hundreds of dollars for sclerotherapy or laser treatments.
Sclerotherapy involves injecting each spider vein with a solution that irritates the vein’s lining and causes its walls to collapse. Until the 1940s, the chemical compounds used in these injections — such as iron and mercury solutions — had dubious side effects. But, now, sclerotherapy is performed with saline-based compounds and even more recently, a foam that prevents leakage to surrounding areas of the tissue.
“The gold standard of spider vein treatment is sclerotherapy,” said Dr. Brian Zelickson, associate professor of dermatology at the University of Minnesota and founder of Zel Skin and Laser Specialists, a skin-care center in Edina, Minn., near Minneapolis. “The needles can be guided by ultrasound,” he said.
And the solution used in the injections, or sclerosant, can be customized to the color, depth and thickness of a particular patient’s spider veins.
“Laser is a good option for the needle-phobic or on veins too small to inject,” Dr. Zelickson said.
Laser-assisted sclerotherapy implements the two treatments in tandem, with the laser beam pointed at each injection site along each vein to speed healing.
“In general, we’re noticing a rise in the number of people opting for spider vein treatment,” Dr. Zelickson said. He attributes the increase to better technology and an aging population of appearance-conscious baby boomers.
“What usually happens is someone comes in for endovenous treatments for larger veins and a lot of times they’ll say, ‘While you’re at it, take a look at these smaller veins and let me know if you can do anything about them,’ ” Dr. Zelickson said.
The answer is usually “yes.”
In fact, laser treatment for spider veins on the legs jumped to 133,192 procedures in 2008 from 85,907 in 2000, according to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. And that’s just counting what the society’s membership performed.
Although both sclerotherapy and laser treatments are commonly performed to eradicate spider veins, there is some pain and up to eight weeks of healing time. Both treatments usually involve repeated visits. And there are no guarantees — spider veins may return to a treated area and there is no way to prevent new ones from forming. Since spider vein treatments are considered cosmetic, they are rarely covered by insurance.
Experts in the industry say in addition to a rise in the number of spider vein procedures( and varicose procedures) performed, they have also noticed a rise in the number of places performing the procedures.

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