Varicose
veins are veins on your skin surface that are raised and that you can feel.
They are usually twisty and can occur any where on your leg and can even extend
into your groin region. Spider veins are smaller, fine clusters of veins on
your skin that are not raised. These can be blue or red in appearance and can
also be found on other areas of your body, such as on your face.
Varicose veins affect an estimated 40% of women and 25% of men, and 50% of
people over the age of fifty. Factors increasing the probability of having
varicose veins include a family history significant for vein problems, being
female, pregnancy, and advancing age. Prolonged standing, obesity, hormone
levels and physical trauma may also exacerbate the problem.
Regardless of the size, or if they are raised or non-raised, both varicose and
spider veins are signs that your veins are not working normally. The job of veins
is to carry blood out of your legs back to your heart. When veins inside of your
leg, that you can't see, aren't healthy, the blood starts to collect or pool
in your legs; this is called venous insufficiency. This extra blood feeds the
superficial veins which become distended with too much pressure and manifest
as varicose and spider veins as well as lower extremity pain and swelling.
Surgery (Ligation & Stripping): Use of traditional surgery
is decreasing due to the effectiveness of minimally invasive procedures. Surgery
can be quite painful, has a long recovery time, and is associated with recurrence
rates of 10 to 25 percent. Vein stripping is generally performed in an operating
room, with general anesthesia, and involves two large incisions at the groin
and knee. The vein is tied off, cut and then pulled (from other attached tributaries)
out of the leg. Bruising and swelling often occur post-procedure and nerves
surrounding the treated vein can be damaged, causing numbness or burning around
the surgical scar.
Compression Stockings: increase the ability of your leg circulation
to move blood by squeezing your veins, decreasing the “pooling” effect
of varicose veins.
Sclerotherapy: is a technique where solutions are injected
into veins causing them to seal. These veins are eventually resorbed by your
body. This technique can be applied under visual or ultrasound guidance.
Superficial Laser Treatments: a laser beam is applied to
the skin surface to cauterize small spider veins or very small (<3mm) varicose
veins.
Endovenous Laser Therapy (EVLT): is a minimally invasive
procedure which is the latest advancement in the treatment of varicose veins
and is rapidly taking the place of vein stripping procedures. Advantages include
short (< 1 hour) procedure time, an overall success rate of 93-98%, no scarring
or hospitalization, a low risk of complications, and a quick return to normal
activities.
The EVLT procedure:
A brief ultrasound exam will be used to locate and map out the vein. After
a local anesthetic is administered a very small catheter is inserted into
the diseased vein from a small entry point near your knee. A laser fiber
is then inserted through the catheter and energized causing the vein to seal
shut. The treated leg is then covered with a compression stocking that should be worn for three weeks.
The closed vein will eventually be resorbed by the body.
Patients are encouraged to walk immediately after the procedure and are able
to resume normal activities (aside from heavy lifting) the next day.
50%
of Americans over the age of 50 suffer from painful varicose veins caused by
venous insufficiency. The traditional surgical treatment for this condition
was stripping and ligation, an invasive surgery that patients found very painful
- and one that required up to six weeks of recovery time. Employing a new,
revolutionary laser technology called Endovenous Laser Therapy or EVLT,
the Interventional Radiologists at SJRA are now successfully treating unsightly
and painful varicose veins.
The Vascular Care Center is the newest and most advanced outpatient facility
in the South Jersey region offering Endovenous Laser Therapy or EVLT for
the treatment of varicose veins quickly and with no pain and minimal recovery
time in a relaxing outpatient setting. With this innovative treatment at the
Vascular Care Center, a laser fiber is inserted into the vein through a tiny
entry site at the knee. The laser energizes the fiber as it is withdrawn from
the vein. Energy emitted from the tip of the fiber causes only the treated
vein to seal, while the body automatically routes the blood to other healthy
veins.
In addition, ultrasound guided sclerotherapy is offered
to assist in the elimination of larger, deeper varicose veins and feeding veins
that can not be seen by visual inspection. A concentrated solution is injected
into the veins under ultrasound guidance, causing the vein to collapse and
seal.
Frequently Asked Questions
Not only people with varicose veins are candidates. Patients with
documented venous insufficiency on ultrasound as well as pain,
swelling, fatigue, and cramping pain may be candidates after a
thorough evaluation by one of our doctors is performed to exclude
concurrent arterial disease.
Closing “bad” or malfunctioning veins actually increases venous circulation as blood is diverted to normal healthy veins. The resulting improvement in venous circulation significantly improves appearance and relieves any associated symptoms. These unhealthy veins cannot be used for any future bypass procedure.
Surgery involves general anesthesia, the risk of infection and pain in the affected areas, as well as a lengthy recovery period. The patented medical laser technology used at the Vascular Care Center is an outpatient based procedure with little to no recovery time, virtually no pain and with better effectiveness than surgery.
A laser is a highly concentrated beam of light. Patented medical lasers work by delivering this light energy to the targeted tissue with extreme precision so as not to affect the surrounding tissue. They've proven their safety and effectiveness through years of use in all kinds of surgical procedures, from dermatology to ophthalmology. In the hands of a skilled physician, lasers can offer less risk and complications than conventional surgery.
Your veins carry blood from the extremities to the heart. In your leg, this means the blood has to flow upward, against gravity. Consequently, these veins have one-way valves to prevent the blood from flowing backwards. Over time these valves can fail to close tightly, allowing blood to pool and causing the bulging and twisting characteristic of varicose veins.
Endovenous laser ablation fixes this problem at the source by delivering just the right wavelength of laser energy to just the right tissue, causing the incompetent vein to close. Your body automatically routes the blood to other healthy veins.
It takes about 45 minutes and requires local anesthesia. You can also receive conscious sedation if you desire. Your physician then inserts a thin laser fiber into the vein through a catheter and the laser light is emitted through the fiber. While you might feel some unfamiliar sensation, it is not painful. And it's all done in the office setting.
Simply avoid taking any food or liquid six hours before midnight the night before the procedure.
There may be some slight bruising and swelling right after the procedure, which usually disappears after a few days. Any minimal discomfort can be treated with over the counter analgesics such as Ibuprofen.
Endovenous laser ablation has proved to be 97% effective-an outstanding record of success. Therefore, you should experience no reoccurrence in the veins that have been treated. Follow-up procedures may be desired to obtain optimal aesthetic results.
Board- certified and fellowship- trained MD's perform all of the laser vein ablation procedures.
For the best results, you should choose a physician who has significant experience in endovascular techniques such as endovenous laser ablation. Some physicians, who although might have adequate surgical training, do not have extensive experience in minimally invasive catheter-based interventional techniques. Endovenous laser ablation is a technique that was pioneered in the field of interventional radiology.
- CASH OR CHECK
If you prefer to pay by cash or check, payment in full is due prior to all procedures. We accept personal and certified checks, but not business checks.
- CREDIT CARDS
We accept all major credit cards including:
- Visa
- MasterCard
- American Express
Some insurers will pay for a portion of an Endovenous Laser Ablation Procedure, on a case by case basis, if deemed medically indicated. If you have a medical problem and if you receive a positive result from a Doppler Duplex Ultrasound Scan, we will try to obtain pre-certification by your insurance company. It is important to note that each insurance company reimburses different amounts for a laser vein ablation procedure. If this is not possible we offer many payment plans.
