Page 18 - Rana Sampson Issue (1)

Women Mean Business
Dr Nisha Bunke

A Non-surgical Cure for an Unsightly Problem

Photos by Lisa K. Miller

It is often amazing to hear of the breakthroughs in medicine and cause them to get severe enough to cause aches, pain and
how medical issues that were previously considered monumental swelling.”
are now easily remedied. Until our recent encounter with So instead of going under the knife to repair these problems a new
Dr. Nisha Bunke of La Jolla Vein Care, located at the Scripps Me- treatment known as Sclerotherapy is now being utilized. The pro-
morial Campus, we were not aware of the wonderful advances that cedure entails injecting a solution of the drug Sotradecol (Sodium
have been made within her field. “Most people don’t realize that Tetradecyl Sulfate) or Asclera (Polidocanol), to irritate and collapse
we no longer treat varicose veins with surgery, but are now able to vein walls, so the vein eventually disappears. For larger areas some
repair this problem with a treatment done at your doctor’s office.” vein specialists use these liquid irritants to make an injectable foam
Many patients previously avoided the thought of visiting a doc- that targets larger varicose veins. Use of the sudsy foam will fill
tor, knowing that the only solution to their unsightly varicose veins up the vein and make full contact with the lining of the vein wall.
was painful and costly surgery. Today This means a much easier treatment
these same patients can be helped in for patients, which is pain free and
a few simple visits to Dr. Bunke’s office requires no hospitalization or recu-
in La Jolla. peration time.
Dr. Nisha Bunke is a Phlebologist, The selection of location for Dr.
specializing in minimally invasive out- Bunke’s practice came about as a
patient procedures for varicose veins, result of a prestigious fellowship that
venous malformations and the most she obtained after completing resi-
severe forms of chronic venous insuf- dency. Born in Southern California,
ficiency, venous leg ulcers. Phlebology Dr. Bunke attended the University of
is a discipline of medicine that deals California in Santa Barbara. A lover
exclusively with venous and lymphatic of travel and exploring exotic loca-
disorders. Dr. Bunke has been helping tions, Dr. Bunke studied abroad for
patients in the San Diego area since a summer in Japan. Following her
2008. In addition Dr. Bunke also dedi- undergraduate work she spent a
cates fifteen hours per week to treating year in Thailand researching infec-
patients at the VA Medical Center, tious disease. When she returned
San Diego, where she is also a Staff she went straight to medical school
Physician. She is also the Director on the island of St. Maarten. Dr.
18 at UCSD’s vein center and a Clinical Bunke received her internship and
Instructor at the School of Medicine. residency training in Family Medicine
It is obvious while speaking with Dr. at Deaconess Hospital in southern
Bunke that she is passionate about her Indiana. Following this, she became
field, and loves what she is doing to the first physician in the United States
help patients rid themselves of prob- to complete a Phlebology Fellowship
lems that are often not only unpleasant at UCSD and the Vein Institute of La
to view, but painful and debilitating to Jolla. It was a rare opportunity which
those who suffer from these issues. led Dr. Bunke to settle down and open
Dr. Bunke treats all types of venous is- her practice in La Jolla. “I had the
sues, with varicose veins being a large privilege to train under the guidance
part of her practice. Spider veins, of Dr. John Bergan, a world-renowned
which are a smaller version of varicose vascular surgeon and preeminent
veins, can also be easily treated with authority in the field. He has published
the same procedure. over 40 books and written over 800
To realize what Dr. Bunke does you publications in the field. Working
first have to understand varicose veins. under his guidance truly convinced
Varicose veins are a result of weak, me that this was the field in which
stretched out vein walls. Since veins contain valves, when they I wanted to dedicate my practice.” When Dr. Bergan retired, Dr.
become stretched they no longer move blood efficiently toward Bunke took over his practice at its current location in La Jolla.
the heart. Not everyone gets varicose veins; it is often a genetic Dr. Bunke is board certified in both Family Medicine and Phlebol-
disposition or can come about as a result of pregnancy, or simply ogy, but limits her practice exclusively to the treatment of venous
standing still for prolonged periods of time. Varicose veins are not a and lymphatic disorders. In addition to providing patient care, Dr.
gender specific disorder, though women seem to be the major suf- Bunke leads clinical research studies and was awarded the 2008
ferers of this condition, which may be linked to hormone production. BSN-JOBST Research Award for the Advancement of Phlebology
Since statistics show that eighty-seven percent of people with for research on Inflammatory Bio-Markers of Venous Insufficiency.
varicose veins do not seek treatment I asked Dr. Bunke if it was She was also awarded the Internationale Union de Phlebologie
dangerous to let this condition go untreated. “It isn’t life threatening Research Fellowship in Monaco. Dr. Bunke has numerous publica-
to wait when varicose veins appear, however, the longer a patient tions in peer-reviewed journals, 7 book chapters in medical text-
goes, the larger they will become, and the treatment needed to books, and is co-Editor of The Vein Book II.
repair them will be more extensive. Ignoring the problem may also

March/April 2011