Varicose vein therapy

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Circulatory system

Varicose vein therapy is used to treat enlarged veins (varicose veins) that have problems with their valves.

Vein stripping; Sclerotherapy of veins; Endovenous ablation therapy

Varicose veins usually occur in the legs. Normally, valves in your veins keep blood flowing. But the valves in varicose veins are either damaged or missing. This causes the veins to remain filled with blood, especially when you are standing.

Varicose veins treatments help remove non-moving (stagnant) blood and re-route blood flow through deeper veins in the legs. There are several types of treatment:

• Surgical vein stripping is an outpatient procedure. You receive general anesthesia, which means you are asleep and do not feel pain. The surgeon makes a cut at the bottom (ankle end) and the top (groin end) of the varicose vein. A thin, plastic, tube-like instrument is placed into the vein and tied around it. When the tube is pulled out, it pulls the vein from out under the skin. Small surgical cuts can also be made over individual veins to remove them.
• Sclerotherapy is done while the patient is standing. A solution is injected into each varicose vein to cause clotting, which closes off the vein. An elastic bandage is wrapped snugly around the legs after the procedure.
• Endovenous ablation therapy is an outpatient procedure. The therapy uses heat to destroy vein tissue. A thin catheter (or tube) is inserted into the vein through a tiny skin incision under local anesthesia. Then, using either laser or radiowave (radiofreqency) energy, the vein is heated and cauterized. This closes off the vein.

Today, fewer doctors are performing the traditional vein stripping surgery as more patients choose the less invasive endovenous ablation procedure. The endovenous ablation procedure has shown to work the same as or better than surgery. Patients have significantly less pain and a quicker recovery.

Varicose vein therapy may be recommended for:

• Varicose veins that cause circulatory problems (venous insufficiency)
• Leg pain, often described as heavy or tired
• Skin irritation and sores (ulcers)
• Blood clots in the veins (phlebitis), which can travel to the lungs (embolism)
• Cosmetic purposes

Review Date: 12/22/2006
Reviewed By: Janet L. Albright, MD, General & Vascular Associates, Reno, NV. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.