Are You Ready to Have Your Varicose Veins Removed?

Varicose veins are not attractive and usually appear in your legs as a result of pregnancy, age, heredity, sitting or standing for long durations of time or obesity. You can do some things to control your varicose veins from getting worse like wearing compression stockings, exercising, and losing weight if you’re overweight, and avoid periods of long sitting or standing. Varicose veins that develop during pregnancy due to hormones and the extra supply of excessive blood and fluids generally disappear three to six months after your pregnancy ends but not always. 

Unfortunately you can’t do anything on your own to make the varicose veins simply go away but they are generally not a health concern that you have to worry about either. Other than being unsightly to look at there are no common health risk associated with varicose veins of concern. Ulcers and blood clots are rare complications and if you are concerned about either one of these conditions you should consult your physician to assess your health risk for developing these health conditions.

If you decide on varicose vein removal there are several methods available to have this procedure successfully done including Sclerotherapy, laser surgeries, cathedral assisted procedures, vein stripping and ambulatory phlebectomy. 

Which procedure is right for you will depend largely on your health history, your preference and the size of varicose vein removal needed.

Sclerotherapy can be done in the doctor’s office without anesthesia in a procedure that involves injecting the veins with a solution that scars the veins and causes them to close in a few weeks. This should result in the veins simply fading away and is usually effective if done correctly. In some cases the procedure may need to be repeated but it should never be painful if done correctly.

Laser surgeries are done on smaller veins or spider veins and generally it takes two to five laser treatment surgeries for the veins to disappear. Laser surgery is consider a good option for a variety of reasons including the fact that it is considered painless and there is no need for incisions or needles. Most patients only feel a pinching with the laser treatment and the procedure itself last about fifteen minutes. 

Catheter assisted procedures are more invasive than laser or Sclerotherapy treatment and involve your doctor inserting a catheter into the varicose vein and heating the tip of the catheter as it is pulled out. The heat causes the vein to collapse and seal shut. 

Vein stripping is an outpatient surgical procedure in which your doctor will remove the vein through a small incision. 

Finally ambulatory phlebectomy is similar to vein stripping in that your doctor will remove the vein in an outpatient procedure that does require some numbing of the leg to perform. Your doctor will then remove the vein through a series of skin punctures.

Talk to your doctor about your options for varicose vein removal and get a clear understanding about all of your options before you proceed.