What procedures help treat varicose veins?
Varicose vein treatments have come a long way! Watch this video to learn about the quick and practically pain-free procedures that vascular surgeon Dr. Steve Elias recommends for treating varicose veins.
Transcript
We can either use laser energy, microwave energy, or a form of chemical and mechanical energy.
The point of all these procedures is somehow to take the abnormal leaking vein that's causing the visible varicose veins
and get that vein to seal shut and not leak any further. [GENTLE MUSIC]
Treating varicose veins, there are many options available. The most important thing, first, is that the physician needs to identify,
where is the underlying source of the patient's vein disease? Many times, usually, 85% to 90% of the times,
the visible varicose veins are actually being caused by veins that are just a little bit deeper underneath the skin.
These abnormal veins are putting pressure on the visible varicose veins. So by treating the underlying cause, which
veins are the deepest, causing the visible veins, we can impact the patient's symptoms and looks on the veins
that they see. If the veins that they see are the only problem, and the underlying veins are normal,
then we have other procedures that can treat these visible veins. And of course, the small spider veins right under the skin,
if they are the only cause of the patient's problems, they can be treated directly.
Most importantly, patients should understand, in the modern era of vein disease treatment, almost any treatment involves either
no cuts at all, no stitches, or just a few little tiny cuts, again, that don't require any stitches.
These procedures all are an outpatient procedure. People can walk right after the procedure. There's minimal downtime and minimal impact
upon affecting their life. Since the majority, meaning somewhere between 85% to 90%
of vein problems really occur on veins that are a little bit deeper under the skin, those veins
that are identified by the ultrasound or Doppler, we have various options to treat this abnormal underlying vein.
We can either use laser energy, microwave energy, or a form of chemical and mechanical energy.
The point of all these procedures is somehow to take the abnormal leaking vein that's causing the visible varicose veins
and get that vein to seal shut and not leak any further. These minimally invasive procedures
replace what was known as a stripping, where patients needed a number of incisions in the groin, knee
area, and the ankle area, and the vein was literally pulled out of the body. That, of course, caused a lot of bruising and soreness
and discomfort. The procedures that are done now are all done with a needle stick only, no cuts, no stitches,
and they treat the vein from within the vein. Patients can resume their activities the next day,
including exercise. The results are as good, if not better than the traditional surgeries that we had done in the past.
When the underlying vein is normal, and the various procedures that were just described are not needed, and all the patient
has are the visible varicose veins that are the abnormal veins, there are a few options to treat those also.
These options do not include any stitches. Sometimes, just a needle stick.
What is done is the veins are either removed with tiny, tiny hooks that pull the veins out
of the leg, or if the veins are not too large, they can be injected with some medicine
to make them shrink on their own. So once again, we have options that do not require stitches,
options that are done in about 20 to 30 minutes, and options that allow the patient to get back to normal activity the next day.
senior health
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