Angelina Jolie Looks “Vein” at Screen Actors Guild Awards

There is, of course, always a lot of media attention surrounding the film awards season, and this year will be no different. Already the great and good of Hollywood have been photographed at the Screen Actors Guild Awards looking glamorous and groomed to perfection.

As a vascular consultant though, there was one picture that particularly caught my eye, and that was of Angelina Jolie. Of course she looked beautiful and immaculately turned out in every shot, but I was also drawn to her prominent hand and arm veins which were on display thanks to her sleeveless dress.

Prominent veins on the hands and arms are more likely to be visible on women who, like Angelina Jolie, are slim and toned, because there is so little fat to disguise them.

Unlike varicose veins on the legs, these kind of protruding veins don’t have any health implications for the patient, however because they are on the hands and lower arms they are often on display and hard to cover.

There are, however, treatment options available for anyone who feels particularly self aware of their veiny hands and arms. The latest treatment is called Endovenous Laser Ablation Therapy (EVLA) and works by using a laser to seal the vein off from the other surrounding veins, thus cutting off its blood supply. The offending vein is then reabsorbed by the body and the blood flow is diverted deeper under the surface of the skin, removing it from view. This is the same treatment that is used to treat varicose veins on the legs, but has been updated, and uses even smaller instruments for the arms. Performed under local anaesthetic this is a walk-in, walk-out procedure and patients can get back to normal activities almost immediately.

Protruding hand veins don’t pose any medical risks, and many women feel it is a fair trade in exchange for a slim and toned body. However, if they are causing you embarrassment  you can speak to someone about treatment options.