It’s not likely that anytime soon viewers will see a new television show about doctors treating non-terminal illnesses. Heroics always get the laurels, but Park City’s Dr. Kenneth Seifert has a practice that is helping regular people with serious problems.
Seifert is a vascular surgeon specialized in treating varicose veins. He advertises his ability to help women show off their legs, but treating veins is serious business.
He estimates that about 25 percent of adults develop varicose veins and half of those have painful symptoms some even experience skin ulcers.
People sometimes describe symptoms as restlessness, aching and pain in the legs when standing, and legs feeling heavy or “full.”
Some people have unattractive veins but no discomfort. Others experience symptoms with no visual indication of a problem.
Often, varicose veins are a result of standing for long periods of time and are typical in people with professions requiring such like nursing, store clerks, teachers and waiters. They pop up in pregnant women and it can also be linked to heredity, he explained.
It often affects people in middle age, but Seifert said they can happen at a younger age and there are even diseases that plague children and teenagers.
There are two main types of leg-vein treatments.
The first is ablation for large veins, which before the early part of this decade required a painful operation and a week to recover. Now with laser and radiation treatments, the surgery is much less invasive.
The second type for small veins is sclerotherapy a series of injections to get rid of surface-level vein protrusions that make people self-conscious about showing their legs.
Seifert and his partner Craig Wilkinson perform ablations at their Salt Lake City office. Because of the relative ease of sclerotherapy, Seifert is now performing them in his Park City office.
Both men have about 30 years of surgery experience, he said.
Seifert realized he wanted to be a doctor after a motorcycle accident and a visit to the emergency room in his youth. A native of Michigan, Seifert studied general surgery at the University of Utah and practiced vascular surgery in south Florida before moving to Park City last fall. A condominium owner here since the late 1970s, the Seiferts decided to live here permanently after becoming empty-nesters.
“This is great therapy for people in the prime of life. It really helps them, so I like doing it,” he said.
Formerly, people accepted varicose veins as part of the natural aging process. But in nearly every area of health, Americans aren’t willing to accept the ravages of age the way older generations have, he said. People just dealt with worsening vision and hearing. Today, they demand improved eye glasses and hearing aids.
There’s no reason to accept varicose veins, especially if they’re causing pain, he said.
A variety of medical disciplines have begun offering vein treatments, but Seifert said there are several reasons to see a vascular surgeon first. The most important is that surface blights are sometimes indicative of a deeper problem that must be addressed or discomfort will persist and surface veins will reappear.
Specialists are able to use ultrasound to examine deep veins and address issues below the surface.
If the problems are addressed properly by professionals, it is unlikely that varicose veins will reappear. Even if someone is planning to continue their career or have more children, Seifert said he recommends seeking treatment earlier rather than later.
Dr. Kenneth Seifert
659-1571