St. Clair Hospital opened a Vein Care Center at the St. Clair Outpatient Center in Peters. Jason M. Andrus, M.D., an interventional radiologist at St. Clair, is the director and will perform outpatient endovascular procedures with vascular surgeon Thomas A. Simone, M.D.

Mandy Kooser, B.S., R.D.M.S., R.T.R., Supervisor of Medical Imaging for Ultrasound at St. Clair, says the Vein Care Center provides state-of-the-art treatment for vascular conditions. “St. Clair performs a high volume of venous insufficiency ultrasound studies and recognized that the number of patients needing treatment for venous reflux complications will grow as the senior population ages. Venous disease also has a higher incidence in women.”

The primary procedure offered at the Vein Care Center will be vein ablation, an outpatient treatment for varicose vein, done with local anesthesia. The painless procedure takes only 30 minutes and has no incision. “The type of ablation we offer utilizes radiofrequency waves,” Dr. Andrus says. “It’s a heat-directed process by which you eliminate vessels.” In the past, the surgical treatment of varicose veins was called “vein stripping,” a major operation with general anesthesia.

Many people underestimate the prevalence and seriousness of varicose veins, an underdiagnosed disease. Fifty percent of people will acquire chronic venous insufficiency, otherwise known as venous reflux or recognized as varicose veins, by the age of 50. “People, especially men, often fail to realize that the symptoms they have, such as heaviness in the legs, itching, cramping, swelling, restless legs and leg pain, are actually due to venous insufficiency.”

It is not just a cosmetic problem and treating it early is important before complications occur, Dr. Andrus says.

Dr. Andrus, a graduate of Chicago Medical School, completed his residency and a fellowship at Allegheny General Hospital. He is board-certified by the American Board of Radiology and practices with South Hills Radiology Associates. For a consultation, call: (412) 942-8400.