Page 16 - Dr. Nisha Bunke

Nisha Bunke-Making Your Legs Beautiful Again

By Judith A. Habert

If someone told you that you could transform your legs, which
are currently plagued with spider and varicose veins, into the
once beautiful legs of your youth, would you believe them? Many
women were amazed when they found out that this is now
possible. We all know that there have been medical advances,
which in some cases, appear to be just short of miracles. We are
living longer; diseases that were often viewed as death sentences
are now considered curable.
What I have discovered, over my many years is that most of
us rarely know much about an illness or its cure, unless we are
stricken with the illness, or happen to be a medical professional.
Perhaps, some illnesses that never touch us, don’t seem important
enough to take the time to research or learn about.
Varicose and Spider Veins may fall into this category. How simple
is it now to remove these unsightly markings from what used to
be beautiful legs? I was pleasantly surprised to find out that you
could completely get rid of varicose veins without ever having to
undergo any surgical procedure.
I have had the pleasure of meeting an incredible physician who
has dedicated her life to this field and in speaking to her I have
learned so much about a disease that a large number of
Americans, the majority of which are women, suffer with at one
time or another during their lifetime.
Dr. Nisha Bunke is the first physician in the United States to
complete the fellowship training supported by the American
College of Phlebology in the field of Venous and Lymphatic
Medicine.
As Dr. Bunke explains, “The first step when you realize that you
have varicose or spider veins which need attention, is to come in Photo by Dawn Nicoli
for a consultation and we will perform a venous ultrasound. This
is necessary before doing any treatment. If you go to a physician
who starts off with treatment options, without first performing this
ultrasound, you should immediately walk out of the office. You
cannot treat this condition without first knowing what is the cause.
So, the ultrasound is a necessary first step. For severe varicose
and spider veins it may take several visits, but most vein problems
are eliminated in approximately 3-5 visits. No medicine other than
a numbing agent is used to perform this procedure. Once numb,
endovenous ablation is performed which is an image-guided,
minimally invasive treatment that uses radiofrequency to
cauterize (burn) and close the varicose veins. You can walk out of
the treatment and go back to work if you like. You will be asked to
do no heavy lifting or strenuous exercise following the procedure,
but after 2 weeks of you can go back to normal activity. Generally,
the procedure will include a heat treatment and a couple
sclerotherapy sessions”
The veins treated will never come back, but if you have a
predisposition for vein problems you may have a problem with
other veins. “Varicose and Spider Veins can be hereditary but
they can skip a generation, so just because your mom has them
doesn’t mean you will have them, but if there is a history of them
somewhere in your family line you may very well end up with
them.” Heredity isn’t the only reason for this condition; obesity,
jobs with a prolonged time standing and pregnancy, are some of
the other causes of Varicose and Spider veins.
Being a bit of a sceptic when I hear of new treatments I spent
some time with Dr. Bunke, and she shared some before and after
photos with me. I was astounded at the results, and decided that
since as they say, ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’ I thought I
would show you some of her amazing work. I’m sure you will feel
the same once you’ve taken a look at these images.