VeinCare Center of TN

Leading The Way In Revolutionary, Non-surgical Vein Treatments.

Vein Care of Tennessee offers a world class pelvic venous center in Clarksville run by nationally-recognized experts in the field. Left to right: Sandra L. French, DNP, RN, APRN, FNP-BC and Stephen F. Daugherty, MD, FACS, FAVLS, RVT, RPhS

Pain of any kind may interfere with enjoyment of life or it may limit the ability to engage in normal daily activity or work. Additionally, chronic pain in the female pelvis may limit the joys of intimacy or it may prevent healthy sexual function altogether. Many women with symptoms of pelvic pain at rest, with exercise, or with intercourse suffer with undiagnosed or misdiagnosed and treatable pelvic venous disorders. Fortunately, improvements in diagnostic pelvic venous ultrasound techniques and an improved understanding of pelvic venous issues allows diagnosis of problems that often have been overlooked in the past.

The first problem that comes to mind relative to female pelvic pain is the reproductive or urinary tract. A number of abnormalities of the ovaries, uterus, or Fallopian tubes do cause chronic pelvic pain in some women. Other abnormalities that may be seen on routine gynecologic ultrasound may be blamed for the pain even though they may not be the source of the pain.

Varicose veins in the pelvis associated with high pressures within the veins often are the source of pelvic pain or pain with intercourse lasting longer than 6 months. These enlarged veins may be missed on routine gynecologic ultrasound exams and on CT or MRI scans of the abdomen and pelvis since special techniques are necessary to evaluate the venous system well. Special abdominal and pelvic venous ultrasound examinations identify the enlarged veins and the flow direction and speed of flow to find the source of the venous problem and pain.

Obstruction or blockage of pelvic veins is the most common venous cause of chronic pelvic pain. Treatment consists of confirmation of the diagnosis by means of venograms, injection of a drug into the veins through the leg to show the flow of blood on X-ray, and by intravascular ultrasound (IVUS). IVUS involves ultrasound imaging of the vein wall and the shape and length of the narrowing of the vein with a small catheter inside the vein. Once the nature of the problem is confirmed, a small metal stent is placed through a 3 mm long incision in the groin.

A few patients with chronic pelvic pain have enlarged veins in the abdomen or pelvis that allow blood to run toward the feet when sitting or standing. This abnormal reversal of venous blood flow may increase the pressure in veins of the pelvis leading to pain. Ovarian or iliac vein reflux (reversal of blood flow) can be treated by injections of a drug or small platinum coils into the abnormal veins to seal them shut.

The key to relieving pain for these patients is to first do the diagnostic venous ultrasound exam in a specialized facility with expertise in pelvic venous ultrasound exams. A thorough evaluation of the likely causes of the pain (which may be more than one source) and skilled treatment of the most likely source of the pain are important as well.

At VeinCare Centers of Tennessee in Clarksville, Tennessee, we have a team of expert nurses, vascular ultrasound technologists, an experienced Nurse Practitioner, and surgeon who see pelvic pain patients on a daily basis. We treated the patients and wrote the first peer-reviewed medical journal article about stenting compressed veins in the pelvis for chronic pelvic pain with excellent results (Daugherty and Gillespie, Journal of Vascular Surgery: Venous and Lymphatic Disorders, 2015).

Most of our pelvic venous patients are treated in the state-of-the-art vascular interventional suite in our office under conscious sedation and go home about two hours after treatment. The vast majority of treated patients report complete or very substantial improvement in their pain symptoms ranging from almost immediate to a month after treatment.

If you know someone who suffers from pain in the pelvis lasting longer than 6 months with no solution in sight, we offer a world class pelvic venous center in Clarksville run by nationally recognized experts in the field.