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Varicose veins and back pain relieved

Deseret News (Salt Lake City), July, 2004 by Sadaf Baghbani Deseret Morning News

Although about 20 percent of Americans suffer from varicose veins, it is grossly underdiagnosed and undertreated, according to Dr. E. Bruce McIff, a neuro- and interventional radiologist at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center and the Intermountain Vein Center.

McIff and one of his partners, Dr. Carl Black, also a neuro- and interventional radiologist, took about 75 calls Saturday from people around Utah for the Deseret Morning News/Intermountain Health Care Hotline.

Both McIff and Black use minimally invasive methods and imaging techniques to treat everything from vertebral fractures and varicose veins, to eliminating stroke and heart-attack promoting blockages.

An 84-year-old Salt Lake woman called about a compression fracture, where the bones in the spine break down, and asked whether she should stay bedridden for four weeks as her doctor prescribed.

"A compression fracture is usually caused by osteoporosis and affects about 750,000 people a year, and the numbers are only going to increase with the aging population. If you put an elderly person in bed for that long, they'll never get out of bed again, the pain and damage will only increase. It's the old method of treatment," McIff said.

The new treatment, first used in 1996 according to Black, is done by putting a needle into the vertebrae and then injecting a type of cement used in hip replacements.

"This method has a tremendous impact if used on the right person. I've treated people who come in with compressions and after treatment they leave within a few hours," Black said.

Many of the callers also asked about varicose veins, which can often bulge and cause excruciating pain.

"Not only are they cosmetically unattractive, but many people can't stand to walk because they are in so much pain and their legs always feel heavy and tired," Black said. "With the new techniques we utilize, we can basically eliminate the source of blood clots. How a person is diagnosed is key. "

Prior to these new methods, doctors would "strip" veins, which is painful and unnecessary, according to McIff.

"When someone has a stroke these days, we monitor them and hope that there isn't permanent damage. We are now developing new imaging techniques to see if there is permanent brain damage way earlier, and by increasing community awareness on these techniques, they can really have a tremendous impact," Black said.

E-mail: sbaghbani@desnews.com

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