Why You Don’t Need All Of Your Veins

Are You At Risk?

More than 40 percent of people in the United States suffer from vein disease or vein insufficiency. You may be surprised to learn that varicose veins isn’t only found in overweight, sedentary people. In fact, some of the healthiest people in the world develop varicose veins.

For example, varicose veins was once thought of as an affliction that older people faced. However, while varicose veins does tend to show up more in elderly people, there are still multiple cases of younger, overall healthy people developing this condition.

Some of those younger cases include women who have had multiple pregnancies, people with jobs that require excessive standing without adequate time to sit down, and people with direct family members who have or had varicose veins.

Consider yourself at the moment. Does anyone in your family have varicose veins? Unfortunately, varicose veins has a lot to do with your genetic makeup. So if you know that you fit in to the risk factors that are associated with varicose veins, it’s always a good idea to consult a doctor before the affliction progresses.

Don’t You Don’t Need All Of Your Veins?

You may have lots of questions about varicose veins that you want answered before you even consider treatment options. Many of those questions are found in this article. However, one of the main questions that I hear in my office is, “Don’t I need the veins that you will be removing?”

The short of it is, no. You don’t need the diseased veins in your body.

Yes, your circulatory system requires veins and arteries to function. However, if there are veins in your legs, for example, that have damaged valves and have bad back-flow of blood which causes painful swelling and bulging of veins, it’s safe to remove those diseased veins.

Arteries carry oxygenated blood away from the heart, and veins carry deoxygenated blood back to the heart. When veins in your lower extremities become affected by varicose veins, their ability to push the blood back to the heart effectively becomes obstructed. In fact, your body actually has to work harder to navigate the roadblocks of unhealthy veins.

Furthermore, it’s safe to say that you don’t need those diseased veins that are already not functioning properly in your circulatory system.

What About Bypass Surgery?

The other question that might’ve just come to your mind could be, “Don’t I need those extra veins in case I have to have bypass surgery?”

Again, the short of it is no.

The smaller, superficial veins that are affected by varicose veins are easily removed and would have never been considered to be used in a bypass situation. Bypass surgery requires larger, healthy veins to replace unhealthy veins in the area of the body you are having bypass surgery.

So at the end of the day, you are not putting yourself at risk by getting rid of your varicose veins. You might be surprised about how much better you will feel after the minimal, outpatient procedure.

If you have any other questions about varicose veins or why you don’t need all of your veins, I am happy to help!

If you have concerns about your veins because you have symptoms of vein disease or risk factors mentioned, be sure to make an appointment with Vein Specialists Dr. Eston Wenger of Premier Surgical Associates in Cleveland, TN. Call (423) 472-5423 or CLICK HERE to request an appointment online!