How will my blood circulate if I eliminate my varicose veins?

Remember that we take only the diseased, superficial varicosed veins. These are a burden on your circulation. Because the blood within these veins is refluxing (going backwards), correcting this can only improve your circulation. Fortunately, we are born with more veins than we need, so that elimination of an unhealthy vein will not impair your circulation.

Don’t I need my veins for heart surgery?

Thanks to ultrasound, we can see if the greater saphenous vein (the vein used in bypass surgery) can have valves that are working poorly. A heart surgeon cannot use a diseased, dilated vein for bypass surgery. Furthermore, healthy or minimally diseased veins are typically preserved for this very reason.

Will the veins come back?

Varicose and spider veins certainly can return - not the veins removed or treated but others in the same are or in other locations. By utilizing venous ultrasound, we can look for potential causes of recurrence and treat this.

What are the advantages of laser ablation of the saphenous veins over vein stripping?

Laser ablation is a major advance over saphenous vein stripping for several reasons. Unlike vein stripping, laser treatments do not require general anesthesia, there are no incisions, and recovery is much more rapid.

Does Insurance pay for these procedures?

Most insurance companies follow guidelines for reimbursement. If this criteria is met (clinical symptoms and medical necessity has been established by your doctor), most insurance companies will cover the EVLT and microsurgery procedures. However, we cannot guarantee that they will provide payment. Insurance does not cover treatment of spider veins (sclerotherapy) as they consider this cosmetic. Please call our office for more details concerning insurance coverage.

Is it OK to postpone treatment?

Some women will ask if they should defer treatment until they are finished having children. The answer is an individual one, and depends on your specific condition. If the problem and symptoms are mild, holding off on treatment until all of the anticipated children are born is certainly reasonable. In more severe cases, it makes more sense to go ahead with treatment, rather than live with the symptoms of venous disease unnecessarily.

What about laser treatments for spider veins?

Laser treatments for spider veins is an accepted modality used by some to treat spider veins. In our opinion, the results with sclerotherapy (as opposed to laser) are better and less painful. Occasionally, patients will have extremely small spider veins that can be difficult to treat with sclerotherapy - lasers can be a better option in this circumstance and when this arises we will arrange for laser treatments to be performed.