Treating the saphenous vein alone will fix the pressure problem but will not make those varicose veins (that have taken many years to form) disappear. The use of a microsurgical technique called microphlebectomy (less than 1-millimeter incision) will completely remove the varicose veins and provide a better cosmetic result.

There are non-surgeons performing vein care who are either not trained or not comfortable using microphlebectomy. At AVI, Dr. Albert believes in using both techniques—ablating the saphenous vein in combination with microphlebectomy— to give a patient the best results.

Not all patients are candidates for vein glue. Make sure you get more than one opinion if someone is recommending vein glue to you. All of the medical studies so far indicate that there is no difference in the pain level of today’s minimally-invasive procedures for varicose veins compared with the vein glue. In addition, vein glue will remain in your body forever (it’s not absorbed by the body as some providers are claiming) and you might feel a permanent hardness in your veins where it was injected. Vein glue does not get rid of the remaining varicosities that are left in your legs so you will need further procedures to remove the unsightly veins left behind.

Vein glue is not covered by insurance at this time, which means that you will need to pay cash for this procedure, unlike many of the minimally invasive procedures performed at AVI.

Spider veins (telangiectasias) are the very small veins seen at the surface of the skin often appearing red or purple. These veins received their name because they often have the appearance of a spider web and can be seen on the legs or face. Spider veins are usually cosmetic in nature unless they are associated with leg symptoms.

If spider veins are accompanied by the following symptoms, they may be indicative of superficial venous disease:

• Heaviness
• Itching
• Burning
• Tiredness
• ankle swelling
• restless leg
• cramps

When spider veins are accompanied with leg symptoms, a non-invasive ultrasound is performed to evaluate the superficial system and determine if there is a more serious underlying vein condition.

Spider veins that are not accompanied by symptoms can be treated with either visual cosmetic sclerotherapy or topical surface laser. Sclerotherapy is the injection of a pharmacological solution into the vein to cause the vein to be reabsorbed by the body. You may need as little as one session or several depending upon the number of spider veins that you have. Surface lasers are used on the smallest of spider veins and are the preferred method for facial veins.

Crossing your legs will not affect your vein situation. Varicose and spider veins are mainly caused by valve dysfunction from heredity, pregnancy, and standing or sitting for long periods of time.

If you have had your spider veins treated in the past, most sclerotherapy was done with a saline solution. Now, there are more sophisticated solutions that have higher efficacy and a longer-term result. That being said, ALL spider veins can reappear throughout the years, and touch-up treatments may be needed for your legs to continue to look their best. A recurrence of spider veins, along with heaviness, pain, itching, and/or swelling may be indicative of superficial venous disease.

A diseased vein is just that, too diseased to be used in heart surgery. There are other vessel options to use during heart surgery. As an experienced Cardiovascular Surgeon, Dr. Albert has the experience of knowing that diseased leg veins are not good choices for use in heart-bypass surgery.

Compression stockings are often prescribed for patients with venous disease as a preliminary treatment to manage symptoms. It is important to note that compression stockings will NOT cure venous disease; the symptoms will return immediately when the stockings are removed. Many insurance carriers require that patients wear compression stockings for a pre-determined amount of time before they will consider covering a vein procedure. After your treatment at the Albert Vein Institute, you will be required to wear compression stockings for a short period of time to help speed the healing process.

Topical lasers require a human eye to navigate their use. On the other hand, Endovenous lasers (lasers that reach under the skin) require the use of ultrasound to correctly place and monitor their effectiveness and safety during procedures. As such, only physicians with extensive training, experience and credentialing (i.e., RPVI) in ultrasound are truly qualified to safely operate Endovenous lasers.

Due to extraordinary advances in minimally-invasive vein care and Dr. Albert’s unsurpassed expertise, all of your medical and cosmetic diagnostics and treatments are performed in one center: in our comfortable outpatient settings in Lone Tree or Colorado Springs. We have an inviting reception area for your loved ones to wait while your procedures are performed in our state-of-the-medical-arts surgical suites.

At AVI, Dr. Albert does not use general anesthesia for any procedures. First of all, general anesthesia is unnecessary. Secondly, Dr. Albert considers general anesthesia to be contraindicated during vein treatment. He believes that communication between the patient and the doctor during treatment is important to obtain a successful outcome.

Albert Vein Institute is a participating provider with many private insurance companies and Medicare. We have a professional authorization team that will work with all of our contracted insurance carriers. We will research your insurance for you, so don’t worry if you don’t know the details about your particular plan.

Most insurance companies will cover your varicose vein treatment. At AVI, once the appropriate criteria for medical necessity have been met, AVI will obtain pre-authorization for your treatment.

AVI has treated patients from ages 14-92. Younger patients may have varicose veins for different reasons and should be evaluated by an exceptionally experienced vein specialist.

The field of Phlebology (Vein Surgery) is a young medical specialty with a variety of physicians performing care and minimally invasive surgical procedures. No doctor starts out as a Phlebologist. They start out as a specific type of physician.

A doctor’s ability to perform Phlebology well is the result of a combination of the doctor’s original specialty (i.e., Cardiovascular Surgeon) and how much vein-care experience the doctor has delivered. It is important to understand the different kinds of doctors and vein care specialties in order to receive proper diagnosis and treatment.

There is a difference between a vein practice that has earned IAC Accredited Vein Center status and one that has IAC Vascular Testing Accreditation. Make sure your vein practice has both national accreditations. In order to earn IAC Vein Center Accreditation, one of the prerequisites is IAC Accreditation in Vascular Testing. Other Vein Centers may have IAC Accreditation in Vascular Testing but don’t have the further-needed credential of IAC Accredited Vein Center. AVI has both accreditations.

IAC Accredited Vein Center means that this Vein Center has undergone a rigorous national evaluation, verifying that it has the highest standards of competence in caring and treating venous disease. AVI is currently the first IAC ACCREDITED VEIN CENTER in Colorado.

Before allowing anyone to treat your veins, make sure you are educated about the IAC Vein Center Accreditation. Please read more about this highest standard for our practice when considering where to go for evaluation and treatment of your varicose and spider veins.