Venous Stenting
in Traverse City & Cadillac, MI

This stenosis or obstruction in veins causes pressure to build up upstream, which for the veins, is in the legs. The increased venous pressure leads to leg swelling, edema, heaviness, leg fatigue, varicose veins and venous ulceration. This narrowing of the veins typically occurs in the pelvis where the iliac arteries cross the veins. Classically, this has been described as May-Thurner syndrome where the left iliac vein is compressed by the right iliac artery but the veins can be compressed by the arteries at other locations as well. The arteries are under pressure and are therefore much stiffer. This causes the vein to become compressed between the artery which crosses over top and the spine which lies under the vein.

Venous obstruction can also be caused by prior DVT (deep vein thrombosis). In the past the only options for treating these venous obstructions required an open surgery to bypass the obstructed vein. Now venous obstructions can be treated with angioplasty and

stenting. A catheter is inserted into the vein under ultrasound guidance. The doctor can then insert a tiny ultrasound into the vein to find and diagnose venous obstructions. This Intravenous Ultrasound or IVUS is the best way to detect venous stenosis and it helps guide treatment options. If significant venous narrowing or stenosis is found the doctor can do angioplasty to stretch the vein back open. After the vein is stretched open, a stent is placed. A stent is a braided metal tube which acts as a scaffold to keep the vein open.