Varicose Vein Treatment: Before & After
Before Varicose Vein Treatment
Varicose veins are bulging veins that protrude out of the skin’s surface in a dense mass of twisted, tangled, knotted, rope-like blood vessels. They’re usually caused by chronic venous insufficiency, a dangerous medical condition caused by the collapse of the vein valves responsible for smooth blood circulation to the heart. The collapse of vein valves leads to the accumulation of blood in leg veins, eventually leading to spider veins and varicose veins.
If you have spider veins or varicose veins, you may wonder what you can expect from your varicose vein treatment. Our spider vein and varicose vein treatment centers specialize in personalized, minimally invasive vein treatments that conclude within an hour and involve no downtime. We can’t speak for all vein treatment centers, but we can certainly highlight what you can expect before and after varicose vein treatment at our medical centers.
Please schedule an appointment for a complete overview of your varicose vein treatment options — we have state-of-the-art vein clinics in New York, Long Island, New Jersey, California, and Washington, DC.
Free Insurance Verification
Before you even schedule an appointment, you can expect free insurance verification at our vein centers. Once you enter your details, our insurance concierge will reach out and request your insurance details. They will review the terms and conditions of your insurance to determine if you’re eligible for insurance coverage — this allows us to provide a complete overview of your vein treatment costs during the initial consultation, ensuring complete transparency.
Initial Consultation + Diagnosis
After free insurance verification, the vein doctor will meet with you for a thorough evaluation. The vein doctor will examine your leg veins, review your medical history, and discuss your goals and symptoms. You must inform the vein doctor of all possible symptoms of vein disease, such as leg heaviness, restless leg syndrome, frequent leg cramps, leg swelling, leg pain, and heavy and tired legs, especially if the symptoms worsen at the end of the day.
After examining your leg veins, the vein doctor will administer ultrasound diagnostic tests, known as duplex ultrasound. The vein doctor will use ultrasound energy to visualize the direction of blood flow in leg veins. Accumulated blood in leg veins and backward blood circulation are dead giveaways for chronic venous insufficiency, the root cause of most vein problems. This allows the vein doctor to curate a personalized treatment plan.
Varicose Vein Treatment Planning
The vein doctor will curate a personalized varicose vein treatment plan according to your unique needs. To curate a varicose vein treatment plan, the vein doctor will consider your symptoms, goals, medical history, lifestyle, budget, and insurance coverage options. The vein treatment specialist will also determine if you have spider veins on your legs and need cosmetic treatments after the primary vein treatment. You will receive a complete overview of your vein treatment.
During Varicose Vein Treatment
Your varicose vein treatment might be performed the same day as your consultation or another day, depending on your time constraints and other factors. You should ideally arrive for your vein treatment well-hydrated and wearing loose-fitting clothes. You should also avoid caffeine on the day of your vein treatment. Depending on your specific needs and goals, the vein doctor recommends one or a combination of the following minimally invasive vein treatments.
Radiofrequency Ablation
Radiofrequency ablation involves using thermal energy to treat chronic venous insufficiency. The vein doctor makes a small incision on the skin’s surface to insert a catheter into the greater saphenous vein under ultrasound guidance. The vein doctor delivers tumescent anesthesia and activates the catheter, generating thermal energy to destroy the diseased vein. The accumulated blood reroutes into healthier leg veins.
Endovenous Laser Ablation
Endovenous laser ablation involves using laser energy to treat chronic venous insufficiency. The vein doctor makes a small incision on the skin’s surface to insert a catheter into the greater saphenous vein under ultrasound guidance. The vein specialist delivers tumescent anesthesia and activates the laser fiber, generating laser energy to collapse the greater saphenous vein. The accumulated blood reroutes into healthier leg veins.
VenaSeal
VenaSeal involves using a medical-grade adhesive to treat chronic venous insufficiency. The vein doctor injects the FDA-approved vein glue into the diseased vein to seal its walls shut. The greater saphenous vein turns into hardened scar tissues gradually metabolized by the body, and the accumulated blood reroutes into healthier leg veins. The vein glue hardens and remains within the body in the form of a medical implant.
Sclerotherapy
Sclerotherapy treatment is ideal for patients with spider veins on their legs. The vein doctor injects a sclerosant medicine into the spider veins, delivering one injection per spider vein. The sclerotherapy treatment makes the spider veins shrink and get absorbed by the body, fading away from the skin’s surface. You may need multiple sclerotherapy sessions.
Ambulatory Phlebectomy
Ambulatory phlebectomy is the ideal cosmetic treatment for superficial varicose veins, usually performed after the primary vein treatment. The vein specialist makes small incisions to physically extract unwanted varicose veins from the legs. The incision marks gradually heal and fade away from the skin’s surface.
After Varicose Vein Treatment
Minimally invasive spider vein and varicose vein treatments usually conclude within 30 to 60 minutes and involve no downtime. You may experience mild redness, swelling, tenderness, and bruising around the treatment site for a few days, and some treatments may also lead to a mild firmness on the skin’s surface. These side effects dissipate within a few days. The results are immediate, but you might notice cosmetic improvements on your skin a few weeks after your sclerotherapy treatment. Your vein doctor will provide a detailed overview of aftercare post-varicose vein treatment.
Book a Consultation
Scheduling a consultation with one of our vein treatment experts is one of the best ways to determine the proper resolution for your varicose veins. The treatments can include sclerotherapy, laser or radiofrequency ablation, a medication called Varithena, or procedures such as Venaseal, or Clarivein.
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