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Varicose Veins

What causes Varicose Veins?
The veins become varicosed because the valves do not work correctly. Heredity, pregnancy, obesity and deep venous disease can cause varicosities.

What are they?
These veins represent the large bulging veins in the legs. Varicosities can cause tired and painful legs, discolored and damaged skin, phlebitis and ulcerations of the legs. These complications of varicose veins may take many years to appear after the onset of the varicosities.

What are the treatment options?
Varicose vein disease has undergone great changes in the last decade. Gone are the days when treatment is based only on appearance of veins and every patient is recommended a vein stripping.

First, it is important to note that no patient with varicose veins should undergo treatment without complete non-invasive testing. This will confirm the most precise procedure to be done.

The successful treatment of varicose veins depends on the ability of the physician to find where the problem originates in the leg. The veins seen in the lower leg are caused by a problem higher in the leg. The source of the problem can be accurately evaluated by non-invasive testing - doppler, plethysmography or duplex scanning. This testing, when necessary, will show where the varicosities start and then the correct mode of treatment can be instituted.

The best treatment of varicose veins is rendered by several treatments. To attempt to exclusively treat varicosities by only surgery or only sclerotherapy does not give the best results. Offering a combination of methods gives much better results. Treatment options include:

1) Sclerotherapy involves injecting the varicosities in the office and then applying a compression bandage. This technique is convenient and painless with no change in one's daily schedule.

2) Surgical treatments have recently undergone great changes. It is now possible to remove varicose veins with micro incisions which, when healed, are not visible.

3) Lasers have been useful in treating truncal and facial spider veins, but the varicose vein is too large to treat by laser treatment.

A new treatment for varicose veins has emerged. Instead of doing vein stripping, which requires at least two incisions, the vein can be closed by heating the vein with a catheter. The technique is done percutaneously or a very small incision is made to put the catheter in the vein. The post-op pain is very minimal and patient satisfaction has been very high.

4) Closure Procedure The new method of using non-invasive testing allows more accurate diagnosis and treatment of venous disease. The significant complications of venous disease - ulcerations, skin discoloration, phlebitis - should be minimized with our modern capabilities.

What are the results?
The cosmetic results are superb with the incisions in most patients becoming invisible. This procedure works so well that sclerotherapy of large veins is rarely needed.

Will this hurt?
Most patients find minimal discomfort with the procedure.

How long till I get back to my normal routine?
This is done as outpatients and the patient can be back near normal activities in several days.