Month: December 2010

IVC is now accredited by the American College of Radiology!

We are proud to announce IVC has met the strict requirements for accreditation with the American College of Radiology.

Why should I have my imaging exam done at an accredited facility?

When you see the gold seals of accreditation prominently displayed in our imaging facility, you can be sure that you are in a facility that meets standards for imaging quality and safety. Look for the ACR Gold Seals of Accreditation.

To achieve the ACR Gold Standard of Accreditation, our facility’s personnel qualifications, equipment requirements, quality assurance, and quality control procedures have gone through a rigorous review process and have met specific qualifications. It’s important for patients to know that every aspect of the ACR accreditation process is overseen by board-certified, expert radiologists and medical physicists in advanced diagnostic imaging.

What does ACR accreditation mean?

  • Our facility has voluntarily gone through a vigorous review process to ensure that we meet nationally-accepted standards of care.
  • Our personnel are well qualified, through education and certification, to perform medical imaging, interpret your images, and administer your radiation therapy treatments.
  • Our equipment is appropriate for the test or treatment you will receive, and our facility meets or exceeds quality assurance and safety guidelines.

Is it safe to close down veins? Don’t you need those veins?

Often times when we are talking to patients about closing down their problematic varicose veins we will get asked “are you sure you can close down those veins?” or “doesn’t my body need those veins, are you going to make things worse?”

When treating varicose veins we explain to patients that we are treating superficial veins and these veins only return 10% of the blood from the legs. The remaining 90% is returned through the deep system. We are not treating or closing down any deep veins, in addition, there are so many remaining superficial veins that are still working properly that we close down the problematic ones and improve symptoms in you legs.

Another question asked often is “What is the limit to how many veins you can close down without causing a problem?” That is a difficult question to answer, but so far we have not reached an upper limit in treating varicose veins where we would feel that treating anymore veins may create problems instead of solving them.

Why can’t all my Varicose Veins be treated in one session?

Often patients want to know why all of their procedures for varicose veins cannot be done all in one setting. At IVC we understand that it would be more convenient for some patients to have all the procedures done at once, but there are a few reasons this is not done.

The primary reason that we don’t combine all the procedures in one day is because some of the problematic veins may resolve after treatment of larger veins. Your treatment plan begins with the principal veins that are causing the majority of problems. For example sometimes when we see moderate to severe reflux in the great saphenous vein (GSV) and mild reflux in the small saphenous vein (SSV), the small saphenous vein may actually resolve and therefore no treatment is necessary after treatment of the greater saphenous vein. This is also true for the visible bulging veins seen in the legs, as they are branches arising off of larger, more problematic veins. That is why these veins are often treated last, because resolution of the primary problem can reduce these remaining veins to the point that treatment is not needed.

Concern for lidocaine toxicity is another reason that we do not combine treatments. Lidocaine is the local anesthetic that we use to numb the extremity, and there is a limit to the amount a person can be given in one setting. By treating a vein that may run the length of the leg we approach that limit and treating more may put the patient at unnecessary risk.

Through years of treating patients we have developed methods that we feel give patients the best results while minimize exposure to unnecessary risks.