Venous problems in adults are generally due to two disorders. The first is deep venous thrombosis (DVT), also known as a blood clot in a deep vein, and affects 2 million Americans each year. This is a serious condition which is associated with fractures of the leg, pregnancy, surgery, prolonged air travel or familial disorders that increase the clotting ability of the blood. DVT is usually associated with leg pain and swelling, and the diagnosis is made with ultrasound.
Treatment consists of immediate anticoagulation (blood thinning medications) as well as other options depending on the patient's condition. DVT is dangerous because the clots can break off and travel to the lungs, causing serious complications and even death. Anyone with symptoms of a DVT (new swelling or prolonged pain in one leg) should seek immediate medical attention, particularly if they have any of the associated conditions or circumstances listed above.
The second vein disorder is more common and fortunately not dangerous. It is known as venous reflux or venous insufficiency. Both names describe failure of the valves in the veins of the leg to normally close, resulting in backwards flow (towards the feet, rather than back to the heart) in the veins. This can cause varicose veins, leg swelling, and pain with prolonged standing or walking and in very advanced cases, problems with skin and venous ulcers at the ankle.
Venous reflux is also diagnosed by ultrasound, and can now be treated with minimally invasive procedures that are far simpler and less debilitating than traditional vein stripping surgery. The current state-of-the-art treatment for most cases of venous insufficiency is radiofrequency ablation performed with a thin catheter and no incision. Patients are back on their feet and doing normal activity the same day of the procedure and complications are much less compared with surgical vein stripping.