April J.

After 20 years of teaching, April was used to standing in front of her class, sitting down on the floor to read a book to the kids, and being on her feet all day.  When varicose veins appeared during her pregnancy, she thought they would go away on their own. After her daughter was born, days of waiting turned into weeks and then months, but the varicose veins were still there.

At first her varicose veins were just unsightly.  The students in class pointed and asked all kinds of questions: Was she okay? Did they hurt? Should she see a doctor? Wearing shorts or a swimsuit attracted unwanted attention from friends and relatives.  The veins near her ankle and calf looked so tangled and swollen that strangers on the street would stop and ask if she was okay.

Gradually the thick, rope-like veins that stretched from her ankle up to her thigh began to hurt. The pain kept her awake at night. She often had to rest her leg on a short stool or nearby chair.

April decided to do something about it and went to see the specialists at Lake Washington Vascular.  They listened to April’s concerns—she was nervous about the procedure, didn’t know what to expect, and was unsure about post-procedure recovery. 

The doctors and staff at Lake Washington Vascular examined her legs thoroughly and found that April had significant swelling (also known as edema) in one of her ankles from the varicose veins.   They created a customized care plan using a combination of treatments including endovenous laser ablation of the main vein causing the problem and tiny incisions to remove the gnarled cluster of veins at her ankle.

This combination of treatments worked and the day after her procedure, April’s legs no longer hurt.  Her time away from work was minimal—one day off for the procedures and one day to recover.  That’s all. On Monday, she was back at school. She spent her first day back standing, sitting, reading to her students, and answering all the questions about where her varicose veins went.