Advanced minimally invasive treatments for Varicose veins.
Varicose veins are a very common problem with patients suffering from leg swelling, vague pain/ discomfort, tiredness and heaviness of the legs, with enlarged tortuous veins on the leg. In milder versions, patients may have spider veins (bluish tiny veins) or reticular veins. The symptoms are made worse by prolonged standing and is common in people with occupations such as teachers, supervisors, security personnel. It also commonly occurs in women during pregnancy due to increased abdominal pressure and may persist after childbirth.
Previously the treatment used to be open surgery where the entire vein is stripped and removed (surgical stripping) which leads to multiple disfiguring scars /skin bleeding or bruising and long recovery time.
Nowadays the patients can be treated with a pin hole procedure through which the faulty vein is permanently closed off with heat (Laser or RadioFrequency ablation). The latest advancement is Venaseal therapy where the faulty vein is closed with glue (VenasealTM) which is completely pain free. The procedure is performed under local anaesthesia with mild sedation (no general anaesthesia) and patient can be discharged mostly on the same day. Patient can resume normal activities by the very next day and there are no visible scars.
Some patients may have small leaky veins called perforator veins which lead to varicose veins. These can be easily treated by carefully injecting them under ultrasound guidance with medicines((sclerosant) to shut those veins. This is called percutaneous sclerotherapy. This treatment can also be used to treat spider or reticular veins in patients who want get rid of them for cosmetic reasons.
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