Can varicose veins be treated without surgery?
I am 51 years old and have varicose veins in my lower leg, do I have to undergo surgery, or is it impossible to get rid of them in a different way? ~ Marlena 51 years old
Lower limb varicose veins can be treated without surgery using sclerotherapy. It consists in injecting an appropriate drug into varicose veins, which causes their closure, shrinkage, and fibrosis. They then become invisible and do not damage the next healthy veins, which slows down the course of the disease. The treatments consist of administering the drug to varicose veins under ultrasound guidance or with the use of a special illuminator. No anesthesia is needed. If the changes are large, then these treatments must be several and they are repeated every 1-2 years, but to a lesser extent. Another method is minimally invasive surgery with the use of a laser, but the method is expensive and in the case of advanced lesions it must be combined with other methods, such as sclerotherapy, mini-phlebectomy, and cryotherapy.
The choice of the treatment method is agreed with the patient after the duplex Doppler examination of the veins of the lower extremities, which determines the range of changes, the number of diseased veins, and the causes of varicose veins. Only after this examination and after examining the patient, the type of treatment, procedure or procedures is agreed with him, because these methods can be combined with each other. Others are used in hospitals, others in offices, others in day surgery centers – which is related to the equipment, apparatus and type of anesthesia for the procedure. For example, in the case of large, extensive varicose veins, the largest ones can be operated on traditionally, and the smaller ones can be injected or subjected to miniflebectomy, which combines the durability of surgical treatment with a good cosmetic effect (no or negligible scars) of sclerotherapy, miniflebectomy, cryotherapy or laser ablation. In each method, in the perioperative period, there is a need for compression therapy – wearing compression stockings. How long to wear them depends on the treatment method.
Also read: Removal of varicose veins
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