South Mississippi vascular surgeon discusses chronic venous insufficiency following Trump’s diagnosis

D’IBERVILLE, Miss. (WXXV) — What is chronic venous insufficiency?

That’s a question on many Americans’ minds, as the White House recently announced President Donald Trump’s diagnosis with the vein condition.

“Chronic venous insufficiency means that small, teeny-tiny little valves in the veins have stopped working efficiently, and it allows blood to go backwards a little bit in the veins,” Dr. Keith Thompson said. “That can lead to extra blood accumulating in the veins, leading to the veins getting bigger and enlarging and contributing to leg swelling.”

Dr. Thompson, a board certified vascular surgeon and the Medical Director of the Vein Institute of South Mississippi — sees it constantly in his D’Iberville office.

“Around 25 percent of people 25 to 50 can have it, and up to half of the population over the age of 50, so it’s super common,” Dr. Thompson explained.

According to the vascular surgeon, the condition is typically mild. However, if left untreated, it can cause symptoms such as leg swelling, a burning sensation or cramps.

“For the president, I don’t think there’s any big, large concern at this point,” Dr. Thompson explained. “For the general population, it tends to be more of just a nuisance for their leg veins, but it is something that is easy to fix.”

Those currently impacted by CVI can make small lifestyle changes to prevent progression of the condition and reduce any impacts in day-to-day life.

“Well, for the president, he’ll probably do some — he probably just needs to get off his feet a little bit and take a break,” Dr. Thompson said, laughing. “But for the general population, they can usually lose a little weight, wear some compression stockings, and if they have larger veins that are bothering them, just seek out an opinion by a vein doctor and get it treated — the sooner the better, it’s easy to fix.”