Dr. Pittman Speaks About Vein Health at Florida Blue

Dr. Pittman is the CEO and Medical Director of Vein911, a provider of world-class medical and cosmetic vein care. You may wonder how vein care matters and may impact your health. Dr. Pittman educated a group at Florida Blue’s Westshore location about vein disease, its symptoms, causes, treatment, and why Vein911 should be your only choice in vein care.

Dr. Pittman has a passion for providing the highest level of healthcare for each and every patient. Not only does he care for the well being of his patients, he is uniquely and highly qualified. He is Triple Board-Certified in Venous and Lymphatic Medicine, Vascular and Interventional Radiology, and Diagnostic Radiology. With his experience and expertise, Vein911 only focuses on veins. You wouldn’t want your Tampa Bay Rays baseball player playing football half of the day, would you?

Dr. Pittman is a proud member of the American College of Phlebology (ACP) and at the national level he represents the ACP as Alternate Delegate to the American Medical Association. He also serves on the Executive Committee of the American College of Phlebology Foundation. Dr. Pittman is also a contributing author to Healthy Veins…Healthy Legs: A Patient’s Guide to Phlebology, a 2012 publication of the American College of Phlebology.

He has an academic appointment as Affiliate Assistant Professor of Radiology at the University of South Florida (USF) Morsani College of Medicine. Additionally, Dr. Pittman actually started the Interventional Radiology training program at USF about 20 years ago!

At the state level, he serves as the Immediate Past President of the Florida Medical Association Political Action Committee. Locally, he is Past President of the Hillsborough County Medical Association.

Some of you may wonder, what is vein disease? Vein disease or venous insufficiency is described as “a leak in the attic causing a flood in the basement”, meaning that leaking vein valves result in pooling of blood in the lower legs producing numerous symptoms. Some of the symptoms that often go unnoticed and increase over time include night cramps and restless legs, both of which can affect sleep quality, leading to fatigue and lack of energy. Other symptoms include aches, pains, heavy or tired legs, ankle swelling, ankle discoloration or rash, and in severe cases, ankle ulcers.

Dr. Pittman stresses that ankle swelling is not a normal part of the aging process. He also explains the significance of brown, rusty skin discoloration as a telltale sign of vein disease. Because vein disease is a “leak in the attic causing a flood in the basement”, the flood is usually from your knees down and you can bail out the flood, but you must take care of the leak. What happens is the iron in your blood can stain the skin and leave your ankles a rusty skin color over time. Furthermore, more than half of people with lifestyle limiting vein symptoms do not have any bulging varicose veins.

Hidden vein disease that causes restless legs or night cramps may interfere with a restful night’s sleep, which in turn, may significantly impact your overall well-being and energy level. This is because restless legs or night cramps may prevent an individual from reaching a deep sleep, acting similarly to sleep apnea. The good news is that over 90% of patients with restless legs or night cramps make a full recovery after treatment, often with amazing results. Dr. Pittman explains that some of his female patients go on to lose up to 10- 20 pounds or more because after treatment they are able to receive a restful night’s sleep and have more energy to exercise.

Some of the causes of vein disease include heredity, pregnancy, occupation, age, obesity, and injury. An individual can be in great physical shape and still have vein disease because the main cause of vein disease is heredity. Dr. Pittman explains Vein911 has patients who are yoga instructors, Pilates instructors, body builders, professional athletes, etc. Dr. Pittman shared a few tips on how to maintain healthy legs. This includes sitting properly with your knees about a half-inch higher than your hips. He explained that you should keep your calf muscles moving which pumps venous blood upwards. When sitting down, if you can’t pull out a sheet of paper out from under your legs, then you are sitting too high and putting pressure on your leg veins and lymphatic vessels. Your legs should never be dangling or unsupported in any way.

What are some of the ways to diagnose vein disease? There are two ways to diagnose vein disease – an ultrasound and compression hose. Compression hose will alleviate most vein symptoms for a short period of time. Dr. Pittman explains that if an individual wears compression hose and they find that after a week there is a big improvement in their symptoms, then that individual probably has vein disease. However, the most accurate and efficient way to diagnose vein disease is an ultrasound exam of your leg veins.

The treatment for vein disease may include “Thermal Ablation” using Laser or Radiofrequency and surgery to remove bulging varicose veins, called Phlebectomy. However, Dr. Pittman states that surgery is antiquated and the only way to completely treat vein disease is through Ultrasound Guided Foam Sclerotherapy (UGFS), which is Vein911’s “secret sauce”. UGFS is a well established but underutilized vein treatment that removes varicose veins permanently without surgery and is the only vein treatment that can eliminate all problem veins a patient may have. The reason for this is because the technique uses ultrasound technology to precisely guide injections for treating deeper, hidden problem veins that laser treatments and surgery cannot reach. UGFS is an extremely effective procedure, takes only minutes and is nearly painless to perform. There is no anesthesia necessary due to the fact that the needle used for injections is so small.

Few vein care centers equal Vein911’s experience, outcomes and patient experience. At least 1 in every 4 new patients seen at Vein911 have been previously and incompletely treated elsewhere. After Vein911 treatments, there are no wrapped legs to prop-up, little or no discomfort and doctor’s orders are to go walk around the mall. Dr. Pittman provides each and every patient his cell number for any questions or concerns. Many vein centers send their patients home with wrapped legs to prop-up, pain, and with vein problems incompletely treated.

When selecting a physician for your vein care, be sure ask the following: Do they re-use their equipment? Are they using FDA-approved drugs? You may be shocked to find that there are many grey areas in vein care. One of which is that many practitioners re-use their laser fibers. This practice is not illegal, but as a patient we would always want the highest quality of care. Vein911’s philosophy is to never re-use any equipment previously placed in another patient’s body. Many vein centers re-use the laser fiber, which is the device put inside the vein. Moreover, other practitioners often use compounded pharmaceuticals to lower costs. However, to guarantee the safety of all their patients, Vein911 uses only FDA-approved pharmaceuticals.

Vein911 succeeds where others fail. Other facilities get rid of part of the problem but not the whole problem. Conversely, Dr. Pittman is an expert at UGFS, which is a critical part of your vein treatment plan. Without UGFS, your hidden, abnormal veins will be left behind and bulging veins, symptoms, or spider veins, will not go away or may return. Vein911 is the only vein center in the USA with a 100% patient satisfaction guarantee on cosmetic spider vein treatment!

To learn more about Vein911 and their treatments, visit their website.

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This post was written by Elevate, Inc.