You don’t have to be old to have varicose veins.  You could be uncomfortable or unhappy about them at any age.  And you might worry that treating varicose veins might hurt, cost too much, or not work very well.

You’re not alone.  It’s perfectly reasonable to research the procedures available to treat varicose veins.  If simple diet, exercise changes or possibly compression stockings don’t do the trick, here are some options…

Sclerotherapy is often the first line of defense for treating both spider veins and varicose veins.  Your vein doctor will determine whether this approach is appropriate for your situation.  You’ll be injected with a substance that makes the vein walls swell and seal shut.  The blood stops flowing then, and the vein becomes simple scar tissue.  This may need to be repeated more than once, but eventually the vein should basically disappear.

Laser surgery can be effective for spider veins in your legs.  Your vein doctor shines strong laser light directly onto the vein. Eventually the vein will slowly fade and disappear.  A skilled doctor will target the light carefully to make sure none of the surrounding area is damaged.

Endovenous Techniques (radiofrequency and laser) are usually done in the office and are used to treat deeper varicose veins.  These techniques represent a true breakthrough in the procedures available to treat varicose veins.  Most patients no longer have to undergo difficult and painful surgery for their severe varicose veins.

If surgery is required for very large varicose veins, talk with your doctor about other potential options.

• Surgical Ligation and Stripping – With this treatment, problematic veins are tied shut and completely removed from the leg.
• Ambulatory Phlebectomy uses tiny cuts and surgical hooks to pull a vein out of the leg and requires local or regional anesthesia.
• Endoscopic vein surgery uses a small video camera to look inside your veins.  Then the vein doctor removes the varicose veins through small cuts.  It requires some kind of anesthesia including epidural, spinal, or general anesthesia and takes a few weeks to heal.

Read more about the modern, in-office, back-to-work-soon procedures available to treat varicose veins.

Barbara Payne
www.Vein-Treatment.com Blogging Team