Varicose Vein Surgery used to have a bad reputation. How many times have you heard “don’t bother having your veins treated, they will only come back”? Well this bad press was justified, because varicose vein stripping is associated with a high recurrence rate. Here’s why and here’s what you can do about it.
When veins are
surgically tied, cut and stripped, there are raw living vein ends. These ends naturally want to regrow and re-join. This is normal and part of the healing process after surgical stripping. In fact, in some people with good healing powers, the veins regrow and re-join over long distances and this process is called neovascularisation. With the availability of non-invasive duplex ultrasound scans we now know that neovascularisation is the number one reason why veins come back or recur after surgical stripping.
So what can you do? Well the main thing is to avoid surgical stripping and ask for an endo-thermal treatment such as endovenous laser or endovenous radiofrequency. These are performed from inside the vein through small needle pricks under local anaesthetic. Through these needle pricks, fine catheters measuring less than 2 or 3 millimetres are placed inside the unhealthy varicose veins which are then heated to a temperature at which they are cauterised – closed off – and then they are also sterilised so there are no living cells and no raw ends to regrow. The vein is absorbed over time and disappears after endothermal treatments. So, the healing process works with the treatment rather than against it and as far as we know neovascularisation – the number one cause of recurrence after surgical stripping – does not occur after radiofrequency or endovenous laser.
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 01935 873 951