I have just treated a lady with varicose veins under a local anaesthetic. Before starting her leg vein removal, Amanda from Yeovil in Somerset confided that she didn’t like the sight of blood and she was a little squeamish. Would there be a lot of bleeding during the vein operation?
Well, modern leg vein treatments do not cause bleeding and here’s why.
The local anaesthetic solution I use contains adrenaline. This is a natural substance produced in the body by a gland near the kidney, the adrenal gland and when adrenaline is mixed with the local anaesthetic it has three important benefits.
- Firstly, it prolongs the action of the local anaesthetic, typically for 18 hours. Not only is the treatment itself painless, but there is no discomfort for the rest of the day.
- Secondly, it causes the veins to collapse and shrink so they are much easier to treat with laser or radiofrequency and they can be extracted through tiny nicks in the skin only slightly larger than a needle prick for an injection or a blood test. This allows the vein surgery to be performed with virtually no scars or marks.
- Lastly, and mostly relevant to Amanda’s question, adrenaline stops bleeding. You may have seen adrenaline in action at a boxing match. When the contestant gets a cut over the eye, it is adrenaline in the stick that his coach applies that stops the bleeding and allows the contest to go ahead. The hormone adrenaline has allowed us to treat veins safely under local anaesthetic without any bleeding. Now, I hope you have found this interesting. Do please remember to subscribe and be the first to see my next video. Thank you for watching.
Contact me today for a confidential chat
If you’re worried about your veins and would like a confidential chat please do get in touch. I am happy to offer simple advice by telephone or email for free and without obligation.
The VeinCare Centre also offers a screening assessment with our vascular technologist. For £25 you can have a scan with Wendy Parsons. She is not a doctor and so she could not give you medical advice but she can check your deep veins and your varicose veins and give you an idea of how bad they are and whether laser might be suitable for you. If you would like to have an appointment with Wendy please call 0800 698 3467.