Healing from Lymphedema at Medical Vein Clinic

A Patient’s Story by Zenda W.

“They didn’t just heal my legs. They gave me back my hope.”

A few years ago, I ended up in the hospital with sepsis and severe swelling in my legs. I had 14 open ulcers. I spent weeks in rehab, wrapped up and going through physical therapy, but no one ever really addressed why my legs were swelling in the first place. One night, my wound care wrap compressions were adjusted, and I ended up in the ER struggling to breathe. They removed 23 liters of fluid from my body. It was a wake-up call. What followed was years of searching for answers. I went to two different vein clinics. One told me to come back in six months. Another did five ablations across both legs — and when the ulcers still weren’t healing, the RN literally told me, “There is no next. We are done.” I kept those wound care supplies stocked like a pharmacy closet. I knew how to wrap my own legs in my sleep. And I was heartbroken.

Then, a PA I was working with mentioned that a vascular surgeon would be coming to see patients at the rehabilitation center where I was receiving wound care. That was Dr. Gianis, along with Dr. Trock of Medical Vein Clinic. They looked at my records and said, “Of course, we can do something.” Before I even made it home, their office had already called me. That’s how fast they move. When I first walked into Medical Vein Clinic, the front desk greeted me before the door had even closed. “Good morning — how can we help you?” That sounds like a small thing. But after what I’d been through at other places — the cancelled appointments, the brush-offs, feeling like a number — it stopped me in my tracks. “I had been to two vascular surgeons, and neither of them asked me a single question. The Medical Vein Clinic doctors asked a lot. And they listened to every answer.” Dr. Gianis did an ultrasound, reviewed everything, and put in a stent. My friends asked if I was nervous. I wasn’t. Shannon and the team were talking and laughing with me the whole time, checking in every step of the way. The genuine amount of caring and concern from everyone in the clinic was a pleasant shock, considering my past experiences.

Dr. Hogg, the founder, and all the doctors there greet me by name. Every visit. Most of my doctors at other clinics are wonderful, but don’t remember me between appointments. At Medical Vein Clinic, I walk in feeling calm. That’s not something I can say about many of my doctors’ offices. And Michelle, the Medical Vein Clinic office manager— bless her — brought me a blanket and a heater while I was fasting and waiting for a stent ultrasound. That’s the kind of place this is.

I had continuous wound care from December 2022 all the way through December 2025. Three years. And once I was discharged by the Medical Vein Clinic wound care team at the end of 2025, everything has stayed healed. Dr. Trock looked at my legs a few weeks ago and said they looked so good. I could cry just writing that. I’m almost 70 years old. I’m on lymphedema forums online now, and I’ve started posting: “If you are anywhere near San Antonio, please go see these people.” I know what it feels like to be
told there’s nothing left to do. I don’t want anyone else to stay in that dark place when there’s a clinic like this one. My own primary care doctor has never met anyone from Medical Vein Clinic and has commented on how much they have done for me. That says everything.