Varicose Vein Treatment

Many people are aware of what varicose veins look like due to their swollen, squiggly, and sometimes discolored appearance, typically on the legs, making self-diagnosis easy. Here are a few other lesser known facts about varicose veins:

Cause: Varicose veins are caused when valves in the veins do not work properly, causing them to become swollen and distorted. Normally, blood travels up the veins to the heart but when the valves malfunction the blood falls down the vein instead. As a result, the veins become enlarged and twisted, the skin can become discolored and thickened, and this can cause significant pain. The condition is most common in the legs due to high pressure in the lower limbs when standing. There is a strong genetic component to most cases of varicose veins. Risk factors for developing varicose veins includes obesity, pregnancy, prolonged standing, menopause, abdominal strain, injury to the legs, and aging. However, it is a myth that varicose veins only occur in the elderly because many young people (including teenagers) develop them as well.

Prevention: Although there is no guaranteed way to prevent varicose veins, the chances of developing them can be reduced through exercise, weight loss, proper diet (high fiber, low salt), keeping the legs elevated (e.g., on a recliner chair), regularly changing sitting or standing positions (e.g., avoid prolonged standing), and (for women), avoiding high heels and tight fitting stockings. These prevention strategies improve blood flow and muscle tone and are also used as a form of treatment once varicose veins have emerged to prevent additional ones from developing. When too many varicose veins have appeared, however, more intensive treatments may be needed.

Treatment: One traditional treatment for varicose veins is known as “venous stripping.” This involves removing all or part of the sapheous vein, which is the large superficial vein of the leg. It is a myth that this is the best treatment for varicose veins because the vein can regrow in the future leading to recurrence, there are numerous potential complications (e.g., blood clots), and the vein will not available in the future if a bypass graft is needed. Another important point is that venous stripping techniques treats the problem at the surface only. Thus, it is important to contact a varicose veins treatment specialist who will identify and correct the underlying problem and restore venous blood flow. An alternative non-surgical treatment for varicose veins is foam sclerotherapy, in which a medicine is injected into varicose veins to make them shrink.

It is a myth that insurance will not pay for treatment of varicose veins. In reality, insurance companies will pay for treatment in most cases of varicose veins because it is a medical problem in addition to a cosmetic problem. People should not wait for pain to occur or all pregnancies to end before seeking treatment for varicose veins because the dysfunctional blood flow pattern needs to be corrected to prevent additional medical complications. The best news of all is that varicose veins will usually not recur if treated properly.

Young People Are Drinking Less

The ancient Greek philosophers, such as Plato, used to write about the benefits of doing things in moderation. For example, drinking too little water can lead to dehydration while drinking too much water can lead to water intoxication.

Not exercising can lead to obesity and heart disease whereas excessive exercise can lead to injuries. There are some instances, however, where there are no benefits of moderation. For example, even a moderate amount of tobacco or asbestos exposure can be deadly whereas no exposure to these substances is the healthiest option.

What about alcohol, however, which is one of the most frequently abused substances throughout the world? It is true that some people cause great harm (e.g., liver damage, financial ruin, relationship breakups) to themselves through alcohol abuse and binge drinking (episodic excessive drinking) and need to dry out now. Others avoid alcohol completely, which is known as teetotalism.

While complete avoidance of alcohol is not harmful, some people may be surprised to discover that there can be benefits to moderate alcohol consumption such as a lower risk of heart disease, greater longevity, improved libido, protections against the common cold, decreasing chances of dementia, decreasing chances of diabetes, and decreasing chances of gallstones. Thus, even with alcohol, a moderate level of consumption can be helpful. Moderate alcohol consumption is defined by up to one drink a day for women and up to two drinks a day for men,

There is evidence that young people are drinking less alcohol than in the past, at least when it comes to binge drinking. For example, research in England through the Office of National Statistics shows that binge drinking at least once a week decreased from 29% in 2005 to 18% in 2013. The same study showed that when young adults did chose to drink alcohol that they chose to drink less and more than a fifth of those surveyed denied drinking any alcohol at all. The latter is also a slight increase over time. The reasons for this trend are likely cultural such as the effects of public health campaigns, increased use of social media, and religious beliefs. Whatever the explanation, the ancient Greek philosophers would surely approve.

States With Best Healthcare Offers and Services

Image via Flickr by Official U.S. Navy Page

When assessing the best healthcare systems across the United States, analysts look at a variety of factors. They start by comparing hospitals in the area, then they look at patient accessibility to the healthcare facilities and outcomes of treatment of various diagnoses. Which states are the some of the best places for healthcare?

Best Overall Healthcare

Hawaii

Hawaii ranks highly on most lists of best states for healthcare. As of a recent study conducted by Commonwealth Fund, less than four percent of the population couldn’t see a doctor for a health condition due to the cost of the medical visit. More than 80 percent of the state’s population has a primary care provider, or someone whom they can trust to care for them when a problem arises.

Iowa

Iowa comes in next, with rates that almost match Hawaii’s. More than 84 percent of the population has a primary care provider, while just over eight percent avoided going to the doctor because of cost. When new nursing and other healthcare field graduates of Maryville University Online look for job opportunities throughout the country, they are often seeking positions in some of the most prestigious and awarded facilities. The clinics and hospitals in the top states are great places to start work in the field.

Best Places for Cancer Treatment

U.S. News & World Report conducts an annual study of hospitals and medical centers throughout the United States that have the best facilities for treatment of specific medical conditions. Cancer treatment is always something that many patients have an interest in since the number of diagnoses continues to rise. Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, NY, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, and Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN rank as the top three places to go for cancer treatment.

When analyzing healthcare systems, there are a number of different aspects that can make or break an organization. With so many different healthcare providers and medical facilities providing excellent care, there are certainly options for all patients to find appropriate treatment for their conditions throughout the country.

The above entry is a guest blog entry.

Medical History: Replacing a Lost Cheek with a Shoulder Flap

Dr. Edmund Andrews

In 1882, Dr. Edmund Andrews (a surgeon from Chicago) had a serious problem to deal with. One of his patients, a young woman of about 22 years of age, had been shot in the face at close range with a shot gun one year prior. The bullet entered from front to back on a diagonal angle, tearing away her right cheek and stripping the skin off her jaws. The woman was horribly scarred and the deformity from the injury caused the opening of her mouth to appear triangular in shape. Without a cheek, one could see the woman’s molars through the side of her face.

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Dr. Andrews tried to figure out if there was a way to remove skin from one part of her body and transplant it to the cheek area. He looked at her forearm and neck for spare tissue but this was to no avail because she was too thin. What he needed was not only skin but fat in order to provide a thick cushion in the cheek area.  He found that her deltoid muscle (shoulder muscle) served this need quite well.  He therefore anesthetized the patient and cut an oval flap of tissue from the front of the deltoid (2 inches wide by 2.5 inches long) and left it attached to her collar bone. He then washed the flap and wrapped it in the tissue of the gutta-percha tree for about a week. This tree tissue was used by surgeons at the time for the repair and preservation of body tissue. In this case, it helped the body tissue recover its circulation.

The surgeon’s next step was to anesthetize the patient again and use a scalpel on the scarred area of the cheek to make the hole match the size of the should tissue flap. The patient bent her neck towards the flap and raised her shoulder to meet it. The flap was then stitched into the open cheek area.  The head and shoulder area were then plastered together with adhesive straps and bandages. The patient had to stay like this for a week. This must have been quite uncomfortable but it was needed at the time to allow the shoulder tissue to form a viable union in the cheek area.  After a week, when the union was established, Dr. Andrews separated the tissue flap from the shoulder and the patient’s head was released from confinement.

Over time, most of the transplanted tissue remained but one part near the mouth sloughed off.  Three weeks after the shoulder flap was separated, Dr. Andrews filled in the gap with other tissue. Due to this pioneering procedure at the time, the patient developed a reasonably full and rounded cheek. The full reference for more detailed documentation of this historical surgical procedure is:  Andrews, E. (1883). Restoration of a lost cheek by a flap from the shoulder. Journal of the American Medical Association, 1, 20-21.