Know your Vascular System & how to take care of your blood vessels health
August 19, 2021
Everything you need to know about Varicose Veins | Dr. Kushan Nanavati
- Varicose veins are large, raised, swollen blood vessels that twist and turn. They usually develop in the legs and can be seen through the skin.
- Spider veins are smaller, red, purple, and blue vessels that also twist and turn. Spider veins are easily visible through the skin, as well.
Causes of Varicose Veins and Spider Veins
A number of factors predispose a person to varicose veins and spider veins. These include:
- Heredity
- Occupations that involve a lot of standing, such as nurses, hair stylists, teachers, and factory workers
- Obesity
- Hormonal influences of pregnancy, puberty, and menopause
- The use of birth control pills
- Postmenopausal hormonal replacement
- A history of blood clots
- Conditions that cause increased pressure in the abdomen, such as tumors, constipation, and externally worn garments like girdles.
Other reported causes include trauma or injury to the skin, previous vein surgery, and exposure to ultraviolet rays.
Other Risk Factors for Varicose Veins and Spider Veins
Varicose veins and spider veins develop more often in women than in men. They increase in frequency with age. An estimated 30% to 60% of adults have varicose veins or spider veins.
Symptoms of Varicose Veins and Spider Veins
Majority of patients with varicose veins have no symptoms. Some people are concerned about the appearance of the veins.
Many people with varicose veins complain of pain, described as an aching or cramping in the legs. Other common symptoms include tiredness, restlessness, burning, throbbing, tingling, or heaviness in the legs. Pain from these veins is usually relieved by elevating the legs or by wearing stockings.
In women, symptoms may be worse during certain parts of the menstrual cycle or during pregnancy. Less common is swelling, ulcers and a darkening of the skin, especially in the ankle region. Occasionally, varicose veins can form a painful blood clot with inflammation of the vein, a condition called thrombophlebitis.
Symptoms are worse at the end of the day, and symptomatic relief may be achieved by leg elevation, mobilization, and exercise.
Do I Need Surgery for Varicose Veins?
Except for cosmetic reasons, most people with very early varicose veins – reticular/spider veins do not need any treatment.
All patients with gross visible veins and having symptoms or developing complications will need treatment.
Sclerotherapy
In this procedure, your doctor injects small and medium-sized varicose veins with a solution or foam that scars and closes those veins. In a few weeks, treated varicose veins should fade.
Although the same vein may need to be injected more than once, sclerotherapy is effective if done correctly. Sclerotherapy doesn't require anesthesia and can be done in your doctor's clinic.
Our Results of Sclerotherapy
Foam sclerotherapy of large veins
Injection of a large vein with a foam solution is also a possible treatment to close a vein and seal it.
Laser Treatment
Vascular Doctors are using new technology in laser treatments to close off smaller varicose veins and spider veins. Laser treatment works by sending strong bursts of light onto the vein, which makes the vein slowly fade and disappear. No incisions or needles are used.
Catheter-assisted procedures using radiofrequency or laser energy
In one of these treatments, your doctor inserts a thin tube (catheter) into an enlarged vein and heats the tip of the catheter using either radiofrequency or laser energy. As the catheter is pulled out, the heat destroys the vein by causing it to collapse and seal shut. This procedure is the preferred treatment for larger varicose veins.
High ligation and vein stripping
This procedure involves tying off a vein before it joins a deep vein and removing the vein through small incisions. This is an outpatient procedure for most people. Removing the vein won't keep blood from circulating in your leg because veins deeper in the leg take care of the larger volumes of blood.
Ambulatory phlebectomy
Your Vascular Doctor removes smaller varicose veins through a series of tiny skin punctures. Only the parts of your leg that are being pricked are numbed in this outpatient procedure. Scarring is generally minimal.
Endoscopic vein surgery
You might need this operation only in an advanced case involving leg ulcers if other techniques fail. Your Vascular Surgeon uses a thin video camera inserted in your leg to visualize and close varicose veins and then removes the veins through small incisions. This procedure is performed on an outpatient basis.
Varicose Veins: Most Advanced Minimally Invasive Latest Laser Treatment
- Endovenous Laser Treatment
- Radiofrequency Ablation
- Sclerotherapy
- Surgery
Why varicose vein laser therapy?
Endovenous laser ablation is a cutting-edge, minimally-invasive procedure for the treatment of superficial venous insufficiency, which causes varicose veins.
It is an ultrasound-guided technique by which a thin catheter is inserted into the affected vein using a needle. This modern technique completely avoids surgery-related complications and the subsequent aesthetic damage, allowing the patient to enjoy an optimal level of comfort with minimal pain and discomfort both during the procedure itself and afterwards.
The laser catheter emits energy into the interior of the varicose vein, causing irreversible damage but without the tissue trauma and potential peripheral nerve damage that was characteristic of the traditional "stripping" technique.
Our Result of Endovenous Laser Ablation Procedure
Additional treatments for more-severe varicose veins
If you don't respond to self-care or compression stockings, or if your condition is more severe, your doctor may suggest one of these varicose vein treatments:
Detailed Video of the live surgery:
Benefits of Laser Treatment for Varicose Veins
- Non-Invasive Treatment: Laser treatment is a non-invasive treatment that has offered great relief in treating varicose veins. It has minimal side effects. Laser treatment uses a light beam to focus on the affected area and eradicates it.
- Effective and Safe: There are minimal side effects of laser treatment in treating varicose veins. There is no involved risk and it is a very effective, simple, and safe treatment. During laser treatment, a beam of the laser is used to heat the affected blood vessels and it destroys them.
- Innovative treatment: Laser treatment is very effective for treating varicose veins, it is an innovative treatment that is especially very effective against larger veins. Endovenous laser therapy in conjunction with ultrasound imaging is very useful in treating larger varicose veins.
- Assured Results: Laser treatment is the simplest treatment for treating varicose veins that offer assured results in very little time.
Laser treatment is the most advanced and simplest way to treat varicose veins effectively. You should get your laser treatment done by a specialized vein doctor to get the safest laser treatment and to avoid any associated risks or complications like pigmentation or darkening of the skin.
Precautions
- Wear stockings
- Avoid prolonged standing
- Wear stockings
- Leg elevation during night
- Guided Exercise
Visit Dr. Kushan Nanavati for discussing risks, benefits of Minimal Invasive Laser Treatment for treating your Varicose Veins in Vadodara, Gujarat. Dr. Kushan Nanavati (MBBS, MS, DNB) is an eminent, MCI recognized Consultant Vascular Surgeon practicing in Vadodara, Gujarat since 2019. He is associated with VINS Hospital, Vadodara & also attached with the majority of corporate/multispecialty hospitals across the city.
For more information, visit our website www.drkushan-nanavativascular.com or call us on 77790 41234, 0265-2353532 , 9328221499 to book an appointment.
Dr. Kushan Nanavati
Vascular & Endovascular Surgeon, Vadodara
