Varicose veins are sometimes painful, but disfiguring and unsightly disease caused by poor blood circulation in the veins. It is getting widespread with an estimated 50-60% women and 20-30% men suffering from this disease. Hence, it is gradually becoming a subject of intense medical study and various new methods have come up recently to combat the disease. Even though lifestyle changes like proper diet, plenty of exercise, proper rest to legs, regular massages, need to be the first remedial steps, latest medical procedures can help us get rid of varicose veins.
Medical procedures are done either to remove the affected veins or close them. This does not cause any issue with blood flow as blood starts flowing through other veins. But, one must remember that these procedures may have some side effects like bruising, swelling, skin discoloration, and slight pain. Some common methods are –
· Sclerotherapy – Here a liquid chemical is injected into the vein, causing irritation, scarring inside the vein, and ultimately closing them off until they fade away. Often used to treat smaller varicose veins and spider veins, they can be done in the doctor’s office
· Microsclerotherapy – These are effective in treating spider veins and tiny varicose veins.
- Laser Surgery – Here the light energy from a laser is focused on a varicose vein which ultimately fades it away. With no cutting or injection of chemicals involved, it is used to treat smaller affected veins.
- Endovenous Ablation Therapy – This method uses lasers or radio waves to generate heat and close of an affected vein. Here a tiny cut is made near the skin of the affected vein to insert a small tube called a catheter into the vein. The tip of the tube has a device, which heats up closes the vein off. For this, the surrounding area is numbed even though the patient remains awake.
- Endoscopic Vein Surgery – It is a surgery done only in severe cases when varicose veins manifest skin ulcers or sores. A person takes few weeks of tie after the surgery to resume normal activity.
- Ambulatory Phlebectomy – This is used to remove the veins closes to the surface. The person can go home the same day after the procedure.
- Vein Stripping and Ligation – This normally is the last resort and done for very severe cases. It has about 1-4 weeks of recovery period.
It is only the specialized doctors, who examine the condition of the varicose vein and suggest the most appropriate medical procedure.
