What Kind of Doctor is a Vein Specialist?

A vein specialist is a physician specializing in the diagnosis and treatment of vascular problems, such as spider veins, varicose veins, leg ulcers, deep vein thrombosis, and chronic venous insufficiency. The official term for a vein doctor is “phlebologist” because the branch of medicine dealing with vascular health is called “phlebology.”

To become a vein specialist, doctors from any field of medicine must undergo specialized training for the diagnosis and treatment of vein disease. As such, vein doctors can come from numerous fields of medicine — they can be anesthesiologists, hospitalists, primary care physicians, cardiologists, or dermatologists.

When looking for vein doctors in NYC, you should ideally focus on board-certified vein doctors. To get board-certified by the American Board of Venous and Lymphatic Medicine, doctors must pass several challenging professional milestones and stay abreast of the latest developments in vein care. As such, board certification is a guarantee that the vein doctor is highly skilled.

Our state-of-the-art vein treatment centers in NYC are led by Harvard-trained and board-certified vein doctors with specialized training in minimally invasive vein treatments. If you have spider veins and varicose veins, we encourage you to schedule an appointment today. You can also request free insurance verification before your appointment.

Varicose veins are dense and dilated blood vessels that protrude out of the skin’s surface, looking like a mass of tangled, twisted, and knotted ropes. They’re essentially blood vessels with excessive blood accumulation. Chronic venous insufficiency, an underlying circulatory disorder, is the main cause of varicose veins. Venous insufficiency is a medical condition wherein your vein valves collapse or malfunction.

In healthy leg veins, the valves act as one-way doors facilitating smooth blood circulation to the heart, usually against the force of gravity. When your vein valves collapse, blood flows backward due to gravity and accumulates in the leg veins. The continued accumulation of blood in leg veins leads to vascular dilation and the eventual formation of spider veins and varicose veins.

Varicose veins are indicative of chronic venous insufficiency, so you must consult a vein doctor promptly. In fact, you should consult a vein doctor when you notice the first signs and symptoms of vein disease, which will manifest long before varicose veins. However, chronic venous insufficiency is an extremely underdiagnosed medical condition because most people misattribute the early signs of vein disease to aging or exhaustion.

You should see a vein specialist if you notice the following signs and symptoms of vein disease:

• Leg heaviness
• Frequent leg cramps
• Restless leg syndrome
• Persistent leg pain
• Persistent leg swelling
• Spider veins
• Varicose veins
• Leg ulcers
• Skin discoloration
• Deep vein thrombosis 

Walking improves blood circulation and engages the calf muscles. Improved blood circulation certainly helps varicose veins because it increases blood flow to the heart. And when your calf muscles are engaged, they push some of the accumulated blood from your leg veins to your heart. As such, if you have varicose veins, walking will alleviate some of the discomfort. However, walking doesn’t treat the root cause of varicose veins, so you’ll still need medical treatments from vein doctors.

If varicose veins are left untreated, blood will continue accumulating in the leg veins, leading to increased vascular dilation and the weakening of vein walls. Eventually, your varicose veins may dilate so much that they start bleeding, necessitating an urgent visit to the emergency room. Besides bleeding varicose veins, you may also experience other complications, such as skin discoloration, leg ulcers, and deep vein thrombosis.

• Wear compression stockings regularly
• Engage in cardiovascular exercises that work your calf muscles
• Elevate your legs while sitting down
• Take short walking breaks after every 30 minutes if you have a desk job
• Drink lots of water

The aforementioned lifestyle changes won’t treat varicose veins or chronic venous insufficiency, but they will prevent varicose veins from progressing. You must contact reliable vein doctors in NYC for the proper diagnosis and treatment of vein disease.