Varicose veins are swollen or enlarged veins on your legs or feet. While they can just be a cosmetic issue for some, according to the Huffington Post The Dangers Of Leaving Varicose Veins Untreated if untreated they can cause serious health problems such as leg ulcers,
bleeding, and deep thrombosis of the legs, a form of blood clot, typically experienced in the calf.
Varicose veins may appear with pain-free symptoms such as dark or protruding veins, to more serious issues including painful, throbbing and achy sensations, and are caused from a variety of factors such as age, sex, obesity, and excess sitting. There are many doctors who treat bulging varicose veins non-surgically. Varicose veins don’t always require surgery and most often they can be treated non-surgically.
Methods to treat bulging varicose veins non-surgically
Traditionally, vein doctors performed techniques known as vein stripping, where small surgical incisions were made, and veins were pulled out of the body in a procedure known as varicose vein removal.
Today, non-surgical techniques are often applied. Some common non-surgical techniques used include:
- Sclerotherapy
Sclerotherapy has as its goal, destroying the bulging vein by injecting a special chemical called sodium tetradecyl sulfate. Generally, this procedure is used to destroy smaller veins, traditionally called spider veins, because of their appearance.
Another method of sclerotherapy is the use of special foam, rather than a liquid. This type of sclerotherapy is more useful when your doctor is treating larger veins, as the
injected foam can cover much more of the vein than the liquid sodium tetradecyl sulfate.
- Radiofrequency Ablation
In this non-surgical method, your doctor will use an ultrasound machine to get an idea
of how the interior of the vein looks, then snake a special type of wire catheter into the vein which emits radiofrequency energy. This causes the vein wall to expand and then contract, and the result is over a few weeks, the vein disintegrates within the body.
- Laser Ablation
Similar to radio-frequency ablation, your doctor inserts a small catheter into the vein
that emits the light from a laser, which then heats the vein, causing it to contract later.
Both laser ablation and radiofrequency ablation are commonly used by physicians to treat deeper, more serious veins within the leg.
Consulting a doctor
You should, of course, consult a vein expert, known otherwise as a vascular medicine
specialist, to be sure you get the very best treatment for your problem leg veins.
For example, many people seeing a vascular medicine specialist discover that a change in diet, the addition of a statin drug, or the use of compression stockings is all they need to stave off problems with the veins within their legs.
On the other hand, if you are in severe pain, or your doctor suspects blood clots, your doctor may recommend a thrombectomy, a surgical procedure to remove a dangerous blood clot. Be sure and see a vascular specialist, at the first sign of severe vein problems in your legs or feet.
