Got vein pain?

By Loring Wirbel

Veins are the body’s lifeline. But one of the physical changes aging might bring is changes in their appearance or function. Spider or varicose veins can seemingly appear or pop out of nowhere, particularly for women who have experienced multiple childbirths.

But if you assume these vein issues are merely cosmetic, think again. Treating them is caring for your health.

Gordon Gibbs and his wife Erin operate the American Vein & Vascular Institute (AVVI), a network of 10 specialized clinics with two locations in Colorado Springs. They’re considering a third in eastern El Paso County.

Gibbs worked for Mayo Clinic in Minnesota for seven years and then moved to Pueblo, where he joined a group of radiologists specializing in hospital-based medicine. His radiology training led to a specialization in vascular intervention.

Two years later, a Cañon City nurse practitioner asked Gibbs to look at some of his patients’ vein problems. Gibbs thought services might be better offered in an outpatient setting, so he rented space from Pueblo Vascular Diagnostics.

“My partners in hospital-based radiology didn’t want to buy electronic medical records or equipment,” Gibbs said.

Within a few months, both he and Erin were convinced the outpatient model could work and launched AVVI in 2009.

“When I told the radiology partners I wanted to buy back the equipment, I got a big thumbs-up,” Gibbs recalled.

And he hasn’t looked back.

“The treatment of venous disease occupies its own category of medicine, using almost a different language than radiology,” said Gibbs. “It was enough of a depar-