Island Life Magazine Ltd June/July 2007 | Page 93

FASHION - HEALTH - BEAUTY - life Máire Rhatigan In the veins The Orchard Cosmetic Skin Centre is pleased to be collaborating with The Vein Care Centre from Dorset allowing an expansion of its treatments for leg veins to include a range of treatment options, including the latest imaging and diagnostic methods and the most advanced techniques. Vascular surgeon Mr Haroun Gajraj is the founder of The Vein Care Centre and will now be working with us regularly bringing his personal expertise in Foam Sclerotherapy and VNUS closure to the Isle of Wight. Unsightly leg veins are a common problem affecting about 60 per cent of the adult population. Problems with leg veins are not a modern complaint. They are likely to have existed ever since man stood upright! So what causes these disfiguring and sometimes painful veins and what can be done about them? What are Thread Veins? Thread veins on the legs are very common and can be very unsightly. In addition, they can cause ache, tired legs, itch and “burning” discomfort. They can cause significant cosmetic embarrassment and many women will not wear short skirts in the summer months. What are Varicose Veins? Varicose veins are unsightly, enlarged, wiggly, lumpy bumpy veins on the legs. Most people can “diagnose” varicose veins for themselves. They give rise to symptoms and complications in some cases and are not just cosmetic. They develop when valves in some of the leg veins begin to malfunction and allow blood to flow down the superficial veins in the wrong direction back down towards the feet. This back-pressure stretches the veins under the skin, varicose veins then develop. So what treatments are available? In some cases, all that is required is simple advice. For many people, their symptoms do not Island Life - www.isleofwight.net indicate a serious health problem or a danger and in these cases, simple advice and reassurance may be all that is needed. Microsclerotherapy Although laser and electro coagulation have been hailed as alternatives, sclerotherapy remains the most reliably successful treatment for thread veins. A chemical is injected through a very fine needle which irritates the lining of the vein causing the walls to stick together. The blood vessel is gradually absorbed by the body and disappears. Foam Sclerotherapy In some cases traditional surgical stripping of varicose veins will be the best option however newer, less invasive techniques are now available. At The Vein Care Centre many patients can be treated with a technique called Ultrasound Guided Foam Sclerotherapy. In this technique, a solution called a “sclerosant” is made up as a foam and under the guidance of an ultrasound probe, the sclerosant is injected into the varicose veins. The injections remove the lining of the veins and start a healing process that seals the v V