Varicose veins are enlarged veins that usually form in the legs. Not only are varicose veins very noticeable, but they can cause discomfort and ongoing health problems. Mario Rueda, MD, FACS at Precision Medical Specialists is dedicated to helping you with your varicose veins. Every patient receives a personalized varicose veins treatment plan from physicians with the highest level of training and experience. If you are looking for comprehensive varicose veins treatment, Dr. Rueda offers advanced surgical and non-surgical treatment options at our medical center in Wellington, FL.
What Causes Varicose Veins?
The purpose of your venous system is to return blood to your heart so that it can be oxygenated and circulated. Leg veins have several adaptations that help our bodies move blood against gravity and back into our heart. When one of these adaptations is compromised, you can have pooling of blood in the vein. The vein wall can stretch, causing varicose veins that are noticeable and may result in other symptoms.
Initially, symptoms may be minimal, but they may progress over time. Veins increase in size, become visible, change color and cause several symptoms including pain. The great and small saphenous veins as well as the posterior accessory saphenous veins are responsible for most of these problems. A family history of varicose veins or deep venous thrombosis (DVT) can increase your risk of having varicose veins. Jobs that require you to stand or sit for a prolonged periods promote blood pooling in your veins and may lead to varicose veins. A sedentary lifestyle and prolonged periods of immobility are also associated with this problem.
Varicose Veins Treatment Procedure
Medical studies have shown high satisfaction of patients who undergo vein treatments with Asclera. The results speak for themselves.
The main objective of treatment is to reduce the amount of blood that is kept in your veins because of dysfunctional vein valves or other anatomic problems. One simple way to approach this is to wear an elastic compression stocking around your leg. This garment will compress your leg approximately 20 to 30 mmHg and promote return of blood to the heart.
If prescribed compression stockings, you should wear them during the day and remove them at night. Application should be soon after you wake up as swelling may make stocking placement very difficult.
In addition to wearing your stockings, you should also find two brief periods of time during the day in which you elevate your legs above your heart level (toes above the nose). During the day, you should also exercise your calf muscles. Contraction of these muscle squeeze the veins around them and facilitate movement of your blood towards your heart.
Spider and reticular veins can be successfully treated with sclerotherapy. This is an outpatient procedure that can be completed in as little as 20 minutes.
While you are laying down comfortably in a procedure bed, a very small needle is used to inject the small vessels. Polidocanol, a sclerosant, is injected that makes those small veins scar down. Polidocanol has some anesthetic properties so there is no need for additional numbing medications. Hypertonic saline has been used in the past, however, it causes discoloration of your skin.
Sometimes, if you have several spider or reticular veins, you may need more than one session.
This is a minimal invasive surgical technique that can be performed with local anesthesia in our clinic. You will not need general anesthesia or a visit to the operating room to have this procedure done. See How Does RFA Work in section below.
This new technique can easily be performed in our office. Most of the procedures require the application of local anesthesia. However, this brand new option does not, making the procedure even more convenient (See How Does Venaseal Work in Section Below).
This is a surgical technique used to remove large/medium size varicose veins. It is an outpatient procedure that can be safely performed in the office setting.
While you are laying comfortably in a procedure bed and after injecting local anesthesia, a very small incision is performed. Using surgical instruments, the veins are removed under sterile technique. There is no need for stitches. In most cases, the procedure can be completed in less than 30 minutes. Special instructions will be provided to you prior to going home.
HOW DOES RFA WORK?
While you are in a comfortable procedure bed, we will perform an ultrasound to map your veins and identify the diseased vessel. After local anesthesia has been applied, we access your vein with a small needle and insert a small catheter. This catheter warms your vein which collapses the vein walls together. This prevents further blood from accumulating in that diseased vessel. After this is performed, the catheter is removed: no stitches are required. The procedure usually takes less than 30 minutes to complete and patients can go home shortly after its completion. You will have a follow up appointment to ensure your symptoms have improved.
HOW DOES VenaSeal WORK?
While you are in a comfortable procedure bed, we will perform an ultrasound to map your veins and identify the diseased vessel. After local anesthesia has been applied, we access your vein with a small needle and insert a small catheter. This catheter warms your vein which collapses the vein walls together. This prevents further blood from accumulating in that diseased vessel. After this is performed, the catheter is removed: no stitches are required. This catheter injects glue into your vein and makes it close down, therefore, preventing further blood from accumulating in that diseased vessel. After this is performed, the catheter is removed: no stitches are required.