Finding relief from painful leg veins

by Connie Wirta

ForHolly Kneisl, staying fit isn’t just good for her health. It’s required for her job.

Holly works as the education and training manager for the 148th Air Fighter Wing of the Minnesota Air National Guard. Annual fitness tests and regular gym workouts are part of the job. “We need to be healthy and fit in order to serve,” the master sergeant explains.

Holly and her husband, Gary, also like to walk, bike and hike with their three children. So, when Holly started having leg pain from varicose veins, she knew she needed to act.

“When I was working out or running, my left leg would get very tight and throb with pain,” the 34-yearold Hermantown woman recalls. “I didn’t let it stop me from activities, but I decided to get it taken care of before it got out of control.”

Holly first started noticing symptoms while she was pregnant with her second child eight years ago. Varicose veins are common with pregnancy, explains Dr. Gregory

Horsley, a vascular and interventional radiologist at the Essentia HealthDuluth Clinic. Pregnancy increases pressure on leg veins and puts extra stress on vessels near the skin’s surface.

Holly knew her mother, Carla Kaneski of Duluth, had a history of vein problems. When Holly was a child, her mother had her veins “stripped,” a procedure that required many small incisions to remove damaged veins. “Each incision had five staples and I had 100 staples in my legs,” Carla recalls.

Instead, Holly found a new treatment called VenaSeal that requires only one small incision. She walked out with only a Band-Aid near her ankle and went to the gym the next day.

VenaSeal is one of eight treatments for varicose veins offered at Essentia Health’s Center for Renewal in downtown Duluth. Holly picked VenaSeal at Dr. Horsley’s recommendation. He says it fit her active life and has fewer risks than some other treatments.

“My mom had staples down both of her legs and she was laid up,” Holly remembers. “That was scary for me and I thought, ‘I don’t want to go through that.’ ”

Using realtime imaging, Dr. Horsley carefully guided a small catheter up Holly’s damaged vein. Then he injected a medical glue to seal the inner walls of the vein as he moved the catheter back down Holly’s leg. Blood flow naturally rerouted to other nearby veins.

Holly says she felt no pain, just a little discomfort, during the office procedure. Her leg was tender to the touch but she didn’t need to alter her activities or wear compression stockings.

While her pain is gone, Holly says she also chose VenaSeal because she wants to prevent damage to her other veins. “Dr. Horsley explained to me that I needed to take care of the root of the problem – the bigger vein – rather than just trimming the branches,” she says.

When valves in veins get damaged, gravity takes blood back down the vein and causes swelling, itching, discoloration and pain, Dr. Horsley explains. Over time, it can also cause blood clots, ulcers and bleeding.

Holly’s mother learned how dangerous complications can be when she worked as a paramedic. Carla recalls ambulance runs to aid older people whose varicose veins had ruptured and were bleeding badly.

Carla says she’s amazed by VenaSeal and glad to know there are better treatments available. “I’m learning from my daughter,” she says. “I’m proud of Holly for taking steps to try this new technology that will also help other people.”

“Dr. Horsley is very knowledgeable and takes time to make sure you understand the process and what he’s trying to achieve,” Holly says. “He explains why this is a good option and gives you all the information to make a decision.”

Holly decided to be proactive in treating her varicose veins instead of waiting until she got older. “I think some people are too scared to take care of it,” she says. “People learn to live with chronic pain. I think it’s important for young women to take care of it now.”

VenaSeal is one of eight treatments offered at the Essentia Health-Duluth Clinic’s Center for Renewal. Learn which one is right for you by making an appointment. Call Vein Care Services at (218) 786-2282. D