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Chronic Venous Insufficiency

What is Chronic Venous Insufficiency?

Chronic Venous Insufficiency (also referred to as CVI) is a condition that forms after a deep vein thrombosis or in individuals with concurrent medical conditions such as morbid obesity, lung, kidney and heart disease.  As a result of these conditions, the valves bringing blood flow back to the heart are damaged as a result of higher pressures in the central heart system.  This higher pressure causes the valves within the venous system to become “floppy” causing blood flow to travel back down your legs and cause edema and swelling.  This process occurs mostly in individuals with medical conditions, but also with people with standing occupations such as postal worker, teacher, chef and health care worker.  Overtime, the high pressures can cause skin breakdown and lead to venous ulcers and non-healing wounds.  Elevating your legs above the level of your heart and by wearing compression stockings to prevent blood from building up in the legs can help assist initial symptoms. A complex venous ultrasound is performed to understand and detail the functioning of your venous system.  Once performed, we can determine which veins are not functioning properly and make recommendations for endovenous treatment to assist in repairing the anatomy to improve your symptoms.