If you notice blue veins appearing in places like a spider web on your thigh, do not consider this normal; consult a vascular or cardiovascular surgeon and seek their advice. There are two causes of such blue veins. One is chronic venous insufficiency, or CVI. Varicose veins is a disease in which the valves within the veins become weakened. Due to the weakening of these valves, some or most of the ascending blood flows back down. When this backward flow continues, impure blood begins to accumulate in the veins beneath the skin, causing the appearance of blue veins on the skin. This is called primary varicose veins.
Dr. K. K. Pandey is a Senior Consultant in Cardiothoracic, Thoracic and Vascular Surgery at Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, New Delhi, with nearly 30 years of surgical experience. He has previously worked at Batra Hospital, Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in New Delhi and the Bakulev Institute of Cardiovascular Surgery in Moscow. Dr. Pandey specializes in thoracic, lung and chest tumour surgery, varicose veins, vascular bypass procedures and diabetic foot management, using both open and minimally invasive techniques. A surgeon, writer and health educator, he regularly writes columns and books to make complex medical topics easy for the general public, believing that medical knowledge must reach every common person.