Individuals suffering from venous hypertension can experience discomfort and difficulty engaging in physical activity. VNUS® RF Ablation can address the pain and skin issues associated with venous hypertension and varicose veins.
Dr. Ronald Ernst discusses how this minimally invasive treatment uses radio frequency energy to treat targeted blood vessels and this treatment at Columbus General Surgery may help you.
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Columbus General Surgery Offers Procedure for Painful Legs
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Learn more about Ronald L. Ernst, MD
Ronald L. Ernst, MD
Ronald L. Ernst, MD is a general surgeon in Columbus, Nebraska. He is affiliated with Columbus Community Hospital.Learn more about Ronald L. Ernst, MD
Transcription:
Bill Klaproth (Host): For people suffering from venous hypertension, their painful legs can keep them from doing the activities they enjoy such as bicycling, gardening, and even walking. Columbus General Surgery offers a procedure that can help your legs feel better and protect them from future problems. Here to talk with us about that procedure called a VNUS RF Ablation is Dr. Ronald Ernst, a surgeon at Columbus Community Hospital's Columbus General Surgery. Dr. Ernst, thank you for your time today. So first off, what are the symptoms of someone with venous hypertension?
Dr. Ronald Ernst, MD (Guest): The symptoms can be a multitude of different presentations, but the classic presentation signs are aching, pain, legs feeling extra heavy, fatigue especially towards the end of the day. Patients can start getting some dermatitis, itching and burning in the skin, they can get swelling, leg cramps, restless legs in the evening is a very common complaint, and throbbing. So there's a whole plethora of different symptoms that a patient can present with.
Bill: And if they're experiencing these painful legs for say a long period of time, is that the point they should see the doctor?
Dr. Ernst: Correct. These symptoms are usually chronic. Patients have often had these for not only months, but even years, and have just been dealing with it, and they just figure, "Well I'm getting a little bit older, and that's the way my legs are going to feel." That is not the case. There's something that can be done for these individuals.
Bill: And when you speak of something can be done, Dr. Ernst, let's talk about the VNUS RF Ablation. What is that procedure?
Dr. Ernst: Classically when a person has hypertension, chronic venous hypertension in their lower extremities, they have the symptoms that we just discussed above. But the procedure itself is where we assess the patients with an ultrasound machine looking for which veins are broke, and the vein is carrying the blood retrograde, or basically it's carrying it backwards down in the legs. The leg is not emptying of its blood supply so it causes all of the above symptoms. Once we've identified that vein that is broken, if you will, we slide a small catheter up inside there through a small incision, and we seal it shut with a radiofrequency catheter.
Bill: So with this technology, this sounds really targeted.
Dr. Ernst: It is very targeted. It is identifying the exact problem that's causing the symptoms that the patient has and dealing with that.
Bill: So Dr. Ernst, who is a good candidate then for this procedure?
Dr. Ernst: There's no age limits. One of the things that we do however exclude some patients with are ladies that are in the reproductive years. If they know they're going to have more children, often we say wait until they're done having their pregnancies because the pregnancies are one of the things that cause this problem, and if we do the procedure early on in life, they can get failure of this procedure after having pregnancy. But other than that, there really are no contraindications to have this procedure done for many.
Bill: So what is the recovery like after the procedure? And how soon can a person resume normal activities?
Dr. Ernst: The procedure is done as an outpatient. They come in and after they've had the evaluation, and we find that vein that is going to be ablated - that is the terminology that we use - we wrap the leg and they have to wear compression stockings for three weeks. From an activity standpoint though, with normally forty-eight hours we tell them they can do anything and everything they want to do with heavy exercise. Most patients go back to work even the next day.
Bill: Wow, that is amazing. And this procedure has lasting benefits, much more than the previous procedures. Is that right?
Dr. Ernst: That's correct. The previous procedure was known as vein stripping, and it was not selective. It often did not get to the root of the whole problem that was causing the hypertension in the legs. Now with this technology, we selectively find the vein that is broken, and specifically take that one out of the system.
Bill: And if we could switch to prevention, Dr. Ernst, are there ways for people to prevent venous hypertension?
Dr. Ernst: Yes, there is. Obviously good exercise programs, watching one's weight. If you have a standing job where you're standing many hours per day, compression stockings. Compression stockings, a lot of people don't like to wear them, but they are very good at preventing, and at least stopping progression of this disease.
Bill: And you mentioned you do this on people of all ages. So this isn't necessarily just a condition that develops as people age. There are some younger people that may develop this hypertension in their legs?
Dr. Ernst: Right. It can run in families. This problem, sometimes young healthy individuals, twenty-year-olds can show up with having this problem.
Bill: Because when I think of compression socks- sorry, this is just my perception, I think of an older person. But hearing you talk about this, and someone standing all day at their job, this could be someone in their thirties that is just on their feet all day and the compression socks can help.
Dr. Ernst: Correct. It is a very good preventative measure that all of us should attend to, but most of us don't.
Bill: So if someone wanted to come see you, Dr. Ernst, they're concerned about their legs, what do they need to do to contact you?
Dr. Ernst: They just need to call Columbus General Surgery at 564-5333.
Bill: Wonderful, and if you could wrap it up for us, what else do we need to know about venous hypertension and the VNUS RF Ablation procedure?
Dr. Ernst: This procedure often is thought of- should not be thought of as a cosmetic procedure, just because you don't like the way your legs look or the varicose veins. This is actually protecting your legs. These are God-given gifts that we have, and we need to protect them for our whole life.
Because I see often elderly patients that have not done any protective thing, they go on to have the damage of hypertension which includes veins and ulcers, non-healing wounds, and prevention at an early stage really makes enjoying our elderly years much more enjoyable.
Bill: So it sounds like what you're saying is if this goes unchecked it can lead to other health issues. Is that right?
Dr. Ernst: Definitely. This is something that you do not want to mess around with. If you have this problem, at a minimum you need to be wearing compression, but there's other alternatives including radiofrequency ablation.
Bill: And I'm just wondering, what other health conditions can arise if you do not take care of this hypertension in your legs?
Dr. Ernst: Oh the main problem is non-healing wounds, and as we get older, we start getting other issues and then we don't walk, we don't exercise because our legs are sore, and that just leads to a whole gamut of other issues, just general health issues. We need to keep our legs healthy.
Bill: Amen to that. Great advice, Dr. Ernst, and thank you so much for your time today. For more information about VNUS Ablation, just head on over to www.ColumbusHosp.org. That's www.ColumbusHosp.org, www.ColumbusHosp.org. This is Columbus Community Hospital HealthCast from Columbus Community Hospital. I'm Bill Klaproth, thanks for listening.
Bill Klaproth (Host): For people suffering from venous hypertension, their painful legs can keep them from doing the activities they enjoy such as bicycling, gardening, and even walking. Columbus General Surgery offers a procedure that can help your legs feel better and protect them from future problems. Here to talk with us about that procedure called a VNUS RF Ablation is Dr. Ronald Ernst, a surgeon at Columbus Community Hospital's Columbus General Surgery. Dr. Ernst, thank you for your time today. So first off, what are the symptoms of someone with venous hypertension?
Dr. Ronald Ernst, MD (Guest): The symptoms can be a multitude of different presentations, but the classic presentation signs are aching, pain, legs feeling extra heavy, fatigue especially towards the end of the day. Patients can start getting some dermatitis, itching and burning in the skin, they can get swelling, leg cramps, restless legs in the evening is a very common complaint, and throbbing. So there's a whole plethora of different symptoms that a patient can present with.
Bill: And if they're experiencing these painful legs for say a long period of time, is that the point they should see the doctor?
Dr. Ernst: Correct. These symptoms are usually chronic. Patients have often had these for not only months, but even years, and have just been dealing with it, and they just figure, "Well I'm getting a little bit older, and that's the way my legs are going to feel." That is not the case. There's something that can be done for these individuals.
Bill: And when you speak of something can be done, Dr. Ernst, let's talk about the VNUS RF Ablation. What is that procedure?
Dr. Ernst: Classically when a person has hypertension, chronic venous hypertension in their lower extremities, they have the symptoms that we just discussed above. But the procedure itself is where we assess the patients with an ultrasound machine looking for which veins are broke, and the vein is carrying the blood retrograde, or basically it's carrying it backwards down in the legs. The leg is not emptying of its blood supply so it causes all of the above symptoms. Once we've identified that vein that is broken, if you will, we slide a small catheter up inside there through a small incision, and we seal it shut with a radiofrequency catheter.
Bill: So with this technology, this sounds really targeted.
Dr. Ernst: It is very targeted. It is identifying the exact problem that's causing the symptoms that the patient has and dealing with that.
Bill: So Dr. Ernst, who is a good candidate then for this procedure?
Dr. Ernst: There's no age limits. One of the things that we do however exclude some patients with are ladies that are in the reproductive years. If they know they're going to have more children, often we say wait until they're done having their pregnancies because the pregnancies are one of the things that cause this problem, and if we do the procedure early on in life, they can get failure of this procedure after having pregnancy. But other than that, there really are no contraindications to have this procedure done for many.
Bill: So what is the recovery like after the procedure? And how soon can a person resume normal activities?
Dr. Ernst: The procedure is done as an outpatient. They come in and after they've had the evaluation, and we find that vein that is going to be ablated - that is the terminology that we use - we wrap the leg and they have to wear compression stockings for three weeks. From an activity standpoint though, with normally forty-eight hours we tell them they can do anything and everything they want to do with heavy exercise. Most patients go back to work even the next day.
Bill: Wow, that is amazing. And this procedure has lasting benefits, much more than the previous procedures. Is that right?
Dr. Ernst: That's correct. The previous procedure was known as vein stripping, and it was not selective. It often did not get to the root of the whole problem that was causing the hypertension in the legs. Now with this technology, we selectively find the vein that is broken, and specifically take that one out of the system.
Bill: And if we could switch to prevention, Dr. Ernst, are there ways for people to prevent venous hypertension?
Dr. Ernst: Yes, there is. Obviously good exercise programs, watching one's weight. If you have a standing job where you're standing many hours per day, compression stockings. Compression stockings, a lot of people don't like to wear them, but they are very good at preventing, and at least stopping progression of this disease.
Bill: And you mentioned you do this on people of all ages. So this isn't necessarily just a condition that develops as people age. There are some younger people that may develop this hypertension in their legs?
Dr. Ernst: Right. It can run in families. This problem, sometimes young healthy individuals, twenty-year-olds can show up with having this problem.
Bill: Because when I think of compression socks- sorry, this is just my perception, I think of an older person. But hearing you talk about this, and someone standing all day at their job, this could be someone in their thirties that is just on their feet all day and the compression socks can help.
Dr. Ernst: Correct. It is a very good preventative measure that all of us should attend to, but most of us don't.
Bill: So if someone wanted to come see you, Dr. Ernst, they're concerned about their legs, what do they need to do to contact you?
Dr. Ernst: They just need to call Columbus General Surgery at 564-5333.
Bill: Wonderful, and if you could wrap it up for us, what else do we need to know about venous hypertension and the VNUS RF Ablation procedure?
Dr. Ernst: This procedure often is thought of- should not be thought of as a cosmetic procedure, just because you don't like the way your legs look or the varicose veins. This is actually protecting your legs. These are God-given gifts that we have, and we need to protect them for our whole life.
Because I see often elderly patients that have not done any protective thing, they go on to have the damage of hypertension which includes veins and ulcers, non-healing wounds, and prevention at an early stage really makes enjoying our elderly years much more enjoyable.
Bill: So it sounds like what you're saying is if this goes unchecked it can lead to other health issues. Is that right?
Dr. Ernst: Definitely. This is something that you do not want to mess around with. If you have this problem, at a minimum you need to be wearing compression, but there's other alternatives including radiofrequency ablation.
Bill: And I'm just wondering, what other health conditions can arise if you do not take care of this hypertension in your legs?
Dr. Ernst: Oh the main problem is non-healing wounds, and as we get older, we start getting other issues and then we don't walk, we don't exercise because our legs are sore, and that just leads to a whole gamut of other issues, just general health issues. We need to keep our legs healthy.
Bill: Amen to that. Great advice, Dr. Ernst, and thank you so much for your time today. For more information about VNUS Ablation, just head on over to www.ColumbusHosp.org. That's www.ColumbusHosp.org, www.ColumbusHosp.org. This is Columbus Community Hospital HealthCast from Columbus Community Hospital. I'm Bill Klaproth, thanks for listening.