Labial Varicose Veins

Sound Vascular & Vein provides cutting edge diagnostic and treatment options for women suffering from a variety of vascular conditions. 

Labial varicose veins are what they sound like — varicose veins in the external genital organs called the labia. Most people associate varicose veins with the legs, but they can occur just about anywhere. Labial varicose veins are common in women who are pregnant. They tend to appear during this time, and then disappear after you give birth.

Pregnancy isn’t the only thing that leads to labial varicose veins, though. Other risk factors include extended periods of standing, exercise, and even sex.

Veins carry blood from the tissue back to the heart to get oxygen. That’s not an easy task because often they must work against the forces of gravity. Veins have valves built into their muscular walls to make this blood transport possible, In order to move the blood, the walls of the veins contract, pushing it upward. The contraction pushes the valves to open and then snap back shut when the muscle relaxes.

Over time, these valves can stop working efficiently. They may gap in places, allowing blood to flow backward and pool. As a result, the vein becomes engorged with blood and swells. This is what we refer to as a varicose vein.

In many cases, no treatment is necessary. When the pain starts to interfere with daily activities and the enjoyments of life, then we can stop the blood flow to the disease veins. The body will reroute the blood and eliminate the malfunctioning vein naturally.

Vein embolization is the procedure that makes this happen. A physician makes a small incision near the affected vein and injects a catheter into it. Using metallic coils, plugs, or a sclerosing agent, they stop the blood flow to the vein, causing it to wither and die.

The procedure is minimally invasive and the recovery period about a week.