Understanding Your Treatment Options For Varicose Veins

When you discover that you have unsightly and uncomfortable varicose veins, you may wonder if there is anything that you can do to help you deal with this newfound problem. What you may not know is that there are many different treatment options available to help you get rid of your varicose veins and the pain and discomfort that go along with them. Get to know some of these varicose vein treatment options so that you can get in contact with your physician and get the care and assistance that you need.

Sclerotherapy

Sclerotherapy is a treatment for varicose veins that involves injecting a chemical solution into the affected vein or veins. When that special chemical solution is in the veins it causes damage to the vein that will cause it to close off and seal itself shut. This prevents blood from flowing through that vein anymore and will cause the vein to shrink in size (because no blood will be flowing through it).

This form of treatment is minimally invasive and can be done using a catheter and an ultrasound to get the solution into the affected veins. Because the catheter allows your doctor to precisely target problem veins, sclerotherapy may be useful on both small and larger varicose veins.

Endovenous Laser Treatment

Endovenous laser vein treatment is another form of varicose vein treatment that can be highly effective. A laser is concentrated light energy which means that it also has a high temperature. As such, this heat generated by the laser, can be used to treat varicose veins.

This procedure is also minimally invasive and uses a similar guiding catheter as sclerotherapy. However, once the catheter reaches the target varicose vein, the laser is funneled through that catheter. The heat energy burns the varicose vein creating scar tissue that closes the vein off. This is a very quick procedure and involves minimal healing time.

Adhesive Sealing

Perhaps the newest treatment available for varicose veins is the recently FDA-approved method of sealing the varicose veins off with a medical adhesive. This procedure also involves the use of a catheter.

When the catheter gets to the area of the vein that needs to be sealed off, the doctor will inject a liquid adhesive into the vein. Once in the body, the adhesive will set and harden creating a solid barrier that will block the blood from flowing into the vein.

Now that you know a few of the treatment options available to you for your varicose veins, you can meet with your doctor, such as at Elite Vein Centers, and discuss which treatment option sounds the best for you and your needs.