Vein Institute Brings Breakthrough Treatments To Newtown

By John Voket

Friends are going to be seeing a lot more of Sandy Hook resident Sarah Jeffrey next summer, thanks to the expertise and care she is receiving at Newtown’s new Vein Institute.

“There’ll be one more pair of legs by the pool next summer!” Ms Jeffrey told The Newtown Bee this week as she prepares for one final procedure that should forever rid her of the varicose veins she has suffered with since she was in her early 20s.

But for the food service worker at The Taunton Press, the series of procedures she has already undergone with Dr Alex Afshar affect her quality of life far more than any concerns she has about the cosmetic benefits.

“I’m Irish, so I have fair skin and I bruise easily anyway,” she said. “But more importantly, my legs don’t hurt at all anymore. I don’t have the pain and throbbing that I used to have.”

The Vein Institute of Connecticut at 19 Church Hill Road uses state-of-the-art methods in the treatment of venous disease. Endovenous laser ablation and foam sclerotherapy are two of the most exciting, new techniques Dr Afshar uses to treat varicose and spider veins.

According to Dr Afshar, venous disease is a chronic and progressive condition that only worsens with time.

“Normal, healthy veins use one-way valves to help carry blood back to the heart,” he said. “The veins of the legs have a harder job since they have to work against gravity most of the time. With diseased veins, these valves have stopped working properly, causing blood to flow back down the leg, often resulting in vein bulges at the skin surface.”

Like Ms Jeffrey, most of Dr Afshar’s patients with venous disease suffer from such symptoms as leg pain, itching, tired/heavy legs, ankle swelling, leg cramps, skin discoloration, and open sores/ulcers. But the vein treatments he offers alleviate these symptoms and can prevent more serious complications from occurring.

Endovenous laser ablation (EVLT) is an exciting new technique that is replacing traditional vein stripping surgery. It requires only local anesthetic and enables patients to return to normal activity immediately — with no or minimal pain.

“EVLT involves first using duplex ultrasound to map out the saphenous vein and then threading a laser fiber into the diseased vein,” Dr Afshar said. “The laser then emits highly targeted energy to seal the vein shut, preventing blood flow and the increased pressure associated with varicosities.”

Dr Afshar said that patients are up and walking around moments after the procedure, typically with little or no postoperative pain.

“We want them to get up and be active,” he said. “They certainly can walk — we want them to walk 30 to 45 minutes every day after the procedure. But they can also immediately reengage in more active sports, or be back to work within hours.”

And the quick recovery is accomplished, in part, because no general anesthetic is required.

“Any slight pain is controlled with over the counter pain reliever and possibly with a mild prescription anti-inflammatory medicine.”

The institute’s foam sclerotherapy is used to treat both spider veins and certain types of varicose veins. With this new procedure, under ultrasound guidance, a special FDA-approved foam medication is infused into the diseased vein.

“The foam irritates the lining of the vein, causing it to contract and close, allowing blood to be rerouted to healthy veins,” Dr Afshar explained. “The treated vein then becomes harmless fibrous tissue and is gradually absorbed into the body.”

There is virtually no discomfort afterward and no downtime with this procedure as well, he said.

Ambulatory phlebectomy or microphlebectomy is a treatment where the doctor uses tiny incisions to remove sections of varicose veins at the surface of the skin. This procedure gets rid of unsightly, bulging veins and the incisions heal with minimal scarring.

The procedure is also done under local anesthesia and requires the use of compression bandages or stockings afterward, Dr Afshar said.

“It is really the most immediately satisfying of the three procedures,” he added, “because the patient sees instant results from the removal of the most congested and damaged tissues.”

Dr Afshar is a board certified, family practice physician who has trained extensively in the field of phlebology (specialty in vein medicine). His education has involved residency training at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, Stamford Hospital, as well as medical research at the National Institute of Health and the National Cancer Institute.

His medical degree is from Ross University School of Medicine, with a BS degrees and BS course work from George Washington University in Washington, D.C., and Sheffield University, United Kingdom.

While Ms Jeffrey learned about the practice from two of her local friends who are patients of Dr Afshar’s general medical practice, the Vein Institute’s Director of Business Development Marie Armington says the office gets a lot of referrals through the practice’s website.

“We find that patients who visit the website are already very educated about the procedures once they come in,” she said. And since more than 85 percent of symptomatic patients test positive for venous reflux during preliminary ultrasound diagnosis, Ms Armington said most of the services offered are covered by insurance.

For more information or to schedule a free vein screening Newtown Bee readers are invited to call 203-426-5554 or visit www.veininstitutect.com.