Varicose veins – even if they don’t cause symptoms – slow down the circulation in your legs due to defective valves, putting you at risk for complications, including skin ulcers and swelling. When you look at yourself, imagining the swimsuit season ahead, you don’t want those torqued, bulging ropes of blue and purple.
Even if it’s just their appearance that bothers you, you lose nothing when you get rid of varicose. And you have a lot to gain.
Jon-Cecil Walkes, MD, is a vein expert and surgeon. However, at Texas Heart and Vein Multispecialty Group in Houston, Texas, he prefers to take nonsurgical approaches when treating varicose veins.
How can you get rid of varicose veins before summer, without surgery and long-term recovery? Here are three effective ways to get swimsuit-worth legs without surgery or anesthesia.
If you’re one of four women and men in the United States with varicose veins, one of the most effective ways to remove them is through radiofrequency ablation. In this technique, we insert a thin, heated catheter into your twisted, bulging vein.
The heat from the radiofrequency energy in the catheter wounds the inner wall of the vein and triggers inflammation and the formation of scar tissue. Your body then shrinks and closes the vein, eliminating the debris over time. Your circulation reroutes itself to healthier veins.
You can walk directly out of the office on your own two feet after your treatment. You may need to wear compression stockings as your legs heal. You come back for a follow-up ultrasound to be sure that the vein was closed and will disappear.
FDA-approved Varithena is a patented polidocanol 1% microfoam that we inject into your varicose veins. It can also be used to treat more serious vein conditions, including venous insufficiency of the great saphenous vein (GSV) system. It can be used both above and below your knee.
Once we insert a catheter in an ultrasound-guided procedure, we compress your leg behind the catheter. We then displace the blood in the interior of the diseased vein with microfoam. The displacement helps ensure that the active ingredients aren’t diluted.
The medication in the foam then destroys the endothelium that lines your veins, leading them to contract and form scar tissue. The foam continues to travel into other incompetent veins.
However, when Varithena encounters healthy veins, it’s slowly diluted and deactivated. The foam is also a low-nitrogen formulation, which reduces the chance of side effects.
As with other nonsurgical vein removal procedures, Varithena damages the vein sufficiently so that it closes completely. Your blood reroutes to other vessels. Over time, the damaged, closed vein becomes a fibrous cord that your body gradually breaks down and eliminates.
VenaSeal uses a specially formulated medical foam adhesive to glue shut your dysfunctional varicose veins. We use ultrasound imaging to place a catheter in your diseased vein. We then introduce the adhesive through the catheter.
Next, we press on the treatment area, so that the adhesive in your vein glues the walls of the varicose vein shut. We remove the catheter and cover the access area with a bandage.
Results with VenaSeal are long-lasting: Almost 95% of dysfunctional veins remain closed after five years. Your recovery time is quicker with Varithena than with ablation.
Dr. Walkes helps you decide which nonsurgical varicose vein treatment is best for you. He gives you aftercare instructions so that your legs heal well and are ready for the beach, just when you need them to be.
Are you ready for varicose-vein-free legs?Call our nearest office or book an appointment online for varicose vein treatment today. We service Greater Heights, Pearland Market, League City, Lake Jackson, Manvel, Rosharen, Alvin, Fresno, Missouri City, Arcola, Friendswood, South Houston, Kingwood Market, Humble, New Chaney, Atasciacita, and Northeast Houston, Texas.
