Dr Zach Kidman is a Fellow of the Australasian College of Phlebology and a Fellow of the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners. He obtained his medical degree from Auckland University and went on to complete four years of advanced study specialising in the treatment of venous disorders. We sit down with Dr Zach Kidman to find out 5 quick facts about varicose veins.
- Varicose veins become curly and tortuous under the skin because they grow longer to compensate for the excess pressure they are under. Because an adult’s bones don’t continue to grow longer, the varicose veins have no room to spread out, forcing them to curl under the skin.
- Varicose veins are terrible at transporting blood from your feet back up to your heart because they are malfunctioning veins with faulty one way valves. All they do is hold old pooling blood. They do transport blood from your feet to your heart when you’re lying down and your legs are above your heart which allows the blood to run downhill out of the legs. Many patients with varicose veins have already figured this out on their own which is why they put their legs up high at the end of the day to seek relief from their symptoms. If this is you, we can assess your veins to see what the issue is.
- The treatment for varicose veins is now minimally invasive. You can drive to your procedure and drive home again. Procedures typically last between 30 minutes to two hours. Treatments at Delphi Clinic are with Dr Zach Kidman and one of his talented and caring sonographers.
- Untreated varicose veins can become venous ulcerations, which are chronic skin wounds that can take months to heal and can require regular dressing changes.
- Varicose veins are not just cosmetic! They are a medical disease and medical insurance companies recognise this. Depending on your insurance policy, the treatment of your varicose veins are often covered. Delphi Clinic can seek pre approval for your treatment for you. Delphi Clinic is an affiliated provider of Southern Cross insurance and we are also covered by all major insurance companies for our patients.
We hope you’ve learned something new from this blog post. We welcome self referrals if you have any concerns about your own legs, please send us a message here and we will touch base with you within 24 hours.
