AboutLauri Ordway Expertise I can answer your questions related toyour circulation, your peripheral vascular system. This includes all arteries and veins except those inside the head and inside the heart. For example, neck (carotid), arms (carotid subclavian bypasses to Thoracic Outlet) belly (aortic aneurysm & occlusive disorders, renal artery stenosis), legs (iliac, femoral, popliteal, peroneal, dorasalis pedis, posterior and anterior tibial) arteries. Aneurysm & occlusive disease, atherosclerosis, leg pain, arterial wounds and gangrene, amputation prevention. Arterial Bypass, Reynaud’s, Buerger's disease (thromboangiitis obliterans), Thoracic Outlet and other circulation disorders. Vein disorders: Blood Clots (DVT), post-phlebetic syndrome, varicose veins, venous stasis ulcers. I can help with vascular wounds from diagnosis to treatments. I have worked extensively with VNUS Closure and EVLT (Laser) for varicose veins and can describe pre and post procedure expectations and describe the procedures themselves. I have 15 years of wound care experience, arterial, venous, trauma and diabetic wounds for example.
**I CANNOT answer questions about heart disease, blood pressure, brain aneurysm although I can help with questions about the arteries that go to and from those organs.
Experience I am a nurse, I worked for 15 years with two terrific peripheral vascular surgeons, and one of them is also the inventor of very innovative wound care products and surgical instruments to make vascular surgery procedures better and faster. I wrote and manage the clinic website and field questions from patients all over the world. I am now working with another vascular surgeon and wound care expert, which has given me an opportunity to widen my horizons as I learn another excellent physician's preferences and benefit from his experiences in this amazing specialty.
Education/Credentials I am an LPN, licensed in Minnesota
QUESTION: hi, my name is Anirudh, i am from bangalore india, there is
this problem in my fathers legs, There are these black
stains around the ankle and that is there from more than 20
yrs is what he claims, all through his life hes been taking
homeopathic medicine, today we happened to visit a
physician, bcos my dad was suffering from a severe leg pain,
which he says is constantly there from past 15 days, the
doctor told about "Vascular Vein" problem, and he told there
is no cure for this, i am attaching few pics which i took
today, please let me know what is the issue and how can this
be solved, my dad is into retail business which involves a
ot of walking around, thanks in advance :)
ANSWER: while the photo does not look like classic vein disease, to tell if it arterial or venous answer these:
pain when walking or standing or lying in bed?
swelling in legs by end of day?
describe pain:
temperature changes (legs feel warm, hot, cool cold to touch)?
visible veins in legs especially after exercise ro standing?
smoking history?
family history of varicose veins?
of heart disease?
what makes pain better?
worse?
can he walk as far as he wants to or does he have to stop at about the same distance anytime he walks?
write back, lauri
PS there are MANY, EASY treatments for vein disease
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Firstly thanks a ton for your reply, it was very sweet of
you :)
My dad says, the pain is constant from the last 15 days, he
says there was a fever after which the pain is constant,
pain as he describes he there always, its there when
standing, sitting sleeping, but maximum it pains when
standing, it forces him to SIT DOWN.
There is no swelling at the end of the day,
The pain reduces when he sits down, but after something, he
hass to change the position to reduce it further, as the
pain continues to come back!
If massaged, given a hot water bath, or hot water pack, he
says pain will reduce and give him some comfort,
i feel its normal temperature if i touch,
Correct, when he does too much of walking those veins pop
out, and become prominent.
He has never smoked,
yes there are some of his sisters and brothers who have a
history of leg pain.
there are no history of heart disease,
he says pain reduces when he takes hot bath, rests for a
while when hes at work, and puts leg for rest on a stool,
walking and standing makes it worse.
earlier he could walk to as far as he wants but from the
past 15days, if he has to then he will take more breaks to
reach a distance.
Thanks again,
Warm Regards,
Anirudh
Answer hi again. he should get a venous duplex ultrasound that looks not just for deep vein thrombosis but also for superfical venous incompetence and thrombosis.
most times when you get an ultrasound they just look at the deep veins as these are the ones that can move and cause bigger problems.;..but he superfical veins can become incompetent -this happens when the valves are not working properly and the blood sort of settles in the lower legs causing throbbing, gnawing, hot pain and pressure.
if this is the problem it can be treated with ablation where the veins are eliminated with radio frequency heat via a catheter rather then vein stripping which is very invasive, painful and old fashioned. the best place to read about the ablation and they also discuss at length the vein disease that may be affecting your dad is
www.vnus.com
they also have a page where you can see who, in your area is trained to do the procedure. we do it right in the clinic, our patients do not go to the hospital for the procedure and they usually return to work the next day with no pain at all. i dont know if they have trained surgeons in India but here are definitley great vascualr surgeons in India and that is who you need to seek out for your dad treatment.
there are lots of treatments, check out the vnus website.
good luck, let mne know if you find vnus closure docs in your area
lauri
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