Leg veins have one-way valves—tiny flaps of tissue that keep blood flowing in a single direction. Venous insufficiency, commonly known as “poor circulation”, occurs when the valves in your legs get weak or don’t function properly.  Blood accumulates in these veins, pressure in the veins increases, and the veins can stretch and become abnormally wide. Eventually, blood can pool in the feet causing chronic inflammation in the veins.  

Treating Venous Insufficiency  

After we’ve identified the abnormal vein(s) causing the insufficiency, our targeted treatments either restore normal function, seal shut the leaking veins, or open blocked veins.  

What are Venous Ulcers?  

Blood pooling in your leg’s veins due to venous insufficiency interferes with the normal circulation that brings nourishment to the legs and feet.  Without oxygen-rich blood and other nutrients, skin in the legs can develop open sores called ulcers, usually above the ankle or on the inside of the lower leg.  If left untreated, ulcers can become infected and painful.  

At Englewood Hospital, the goals of our multidisciplinary team of wound specialists and vascular surgeons are to treat the problem and prevent recurrence of the ulcer.  

Learn more about the Englewood Health Center for Vein Disease and the Wound Healing Center.