How to Remove Varicose Veins
Varicose veins are not attractive and they can even be physically painful for some sufferers. Whether your issue with your bulging vessels is purely cosmetic or uncomfortable enough to be interfering with your daily life, help is available. At Center for Vein Restoration, we specialize in varicose vein removal with some of the most effective treatments available today. Check out your choices in procedures that will help you move into the upcoming spring season free of those nagging varicose veins.
Diagnosing Varicose Veins
Varicose veins are usually pretty easy to identify, since it can be hard to ignore those protruding lines snaking up your lower leg. These visible veins can also be accompanied by symptoms like aching, painful legs, heaviness at the end of the day and skin changes around the area of the vessel. The majority of varicose veins are caused by an underlying vein disorder known as chronic venous insufficiency or CVI. The good news is that treatments that eliminate varicose veins will also treat CVI so it does not worsen and cause additional complications.
The Power of the Laser
Lasers provide a minimally-invasive approach to eliminating varicose veins, by ablating them from the inside out. A small fiber is threaded into the affected vein, which delivers laser energy inside the vessel. The laser heats the vein, causing the vessel walls to seal closed. The treated vein is eliminated by natural body processes over time, while blood reroutes to healthy veins nearby.
Endovenous laser treatment, also known as EVLT, is an outpatient procedure that can be performed using local anesthesia. The incisions used to insert the fiber are too small to require stitches and leave little or no visible scarring after treatment. Most of our patients can return to regular activities as soon as their procedure is over.
Radiofrequency Energy and Veins
Radiofrequency energy can be used in a similar fashion to laser devices to eliminate varicose veins. Venefit is the RF procedure that we sometimes recommend to patients instead of EVLT. This procedure follows the same steps as EVLT and boasts similar results. Like EVLT, patients are able to walk out of our office immediately following their procedure and most return to their daily schedule right away.
Removing Large Veins without Surgery
In the past, very large, bulging varicose veins were best removed by a surgical procedure known as vein stripping. This procedure was performed in a hospital using a general anesthesia and patients usually had to remain in the hospital for a couple of days after treatment. The recovery from vein stripping could be lengthy and painful, with some patients remaining out of commission for a number of weeks.
Fortunately, today’s method of varicose vein removal is much less invasive than traditional stripping. Ambulatory phlebectomy is a procedure performed on an outpatient basis using local anesthesia. The affected vein is removed in small sections, reducing trauma to the leg overall. A special tool is used to lift the vein out of the leg, which requires a very small incision to access the vessel. Most of our patients are back to their regular activities the day after ambulatory phlebectomy, with little evidence they had a procedure performed.
Don’t suffer with varicose veins that embarrass you or cause you pain. Contact Center for Vein Restoration today to find out how we can help you say goodbye to your varicose veins.