Varicose Veins are swollen, twisted veins that you can see just under the surface of skin. Varicose veins can occur anywhere in leg from groin to thighs. People having varicose veins usually experience symptoms like swelling, dry, itchy, skin, muscle cramps etc. Severe symptoms include pain during walking,bleeding, skin ulcers, skin discoloration etc.
Laser Ablation is a minimally invasive procedure to treat varicose veins. By use of minimally invasive procedure, a patient requires only a band-aid on the incision, rather than multiple stitches. It results in less infection, shorter hospital stays (just few hours in the hospital) and quick recovery time.
Your treating doctor often a Interventional Radiologist will firstly confirm all your weak veins, using a Doppler Scan and will determine the best place to insert the laser probe. Your physician will then clean, shave and numb this area with a local anesthetic.
Once the area has become numb, a small incision is made and a catheter and a guide-wire are inserted into your skin. Next, a laser fiber is passed through the catheter until it extends approximately 1 to 2 centimeters from the end, at which point it is secured in place. The laser energy seals the faulty vein and blood flow is re-directed to healthy veins. The entire process takes approximately takes an hour.
As already discussed this procedure is minimally invasive, hence you will not experience much pain. Your Interventional Radiologist might carry out an doppler to ensure the success of the procedure.
Laser Ablation has minimal recovery time. That is the patients are encouraged to walk and resume their day-to-day activities on the same day.
Hence it is best to opt for Laser treatment to get rid of this chronic and often irritating disease which doesn't subside with medication.