You have problematic varicose veins — unsightly purple cords that run down your legs. They’re not only a cosmetic concern. Your legs may ache and swell after a long day. Perhaps the swelling no longer subsides when you rest.
Swelling that doesn’t resolve can lead to skin discoloration which in turn may precede a leg ulcer. A leg ulcer is a painful condition that can lead to a serious bacterial infection.
Our board-certified radiologists with REDI Diagnostics Corp in Elmwood Park, New Jersey, can remove your painful, problematic varicose veins with radiofrequency ablation (RFA). In years past, you would have been subjected to a more invasive vein-stripping procedure. Treatments of today are much less complicated and intrusive.
Physicians used to perform vein stripping for very large veins that caused problems. The procedure required general anesthesia or spinal anesthesia, the latter of which made your legs temporarily numb. It was often performed in a hospital setting.
For the vein stripping procedure, your surgeon would have to make cuts at the top, middle, and bottom of your leg. Your provider would then insert a wire into your vein and tie them together, eventually pulling out your vein with the wire. The procedure would take up to 90 minutes.
Thankfully, newer methods provide the same results with less time and trouble.
Modern technology has given vein specialists new tools to remove large varicose veins. Minimally invasive radiofrequency ablation uses heat energy to destroy your vein.
Your expert radiology provider makes one tiny incision and places a catheter with an electrode in your vein wall. Your radiologist then activates the electrode with radiofrequency energy that heats your vein and destroys its integrity.
As your provider pulls the catheter out of your vein, the vein is sealed off, and eventually, the debris is carried out of your body through your lymph system. It provides many advantages over vein stripping, including:
RFA takes place in an outpatient setting. Vein stripping usually required a hospital setting.
RFA is a minimally invasive procedure. One very small incision is made in your skin rather than three larger cuts, thus reducing your chance of infection.
With RFA, you receive a local anesthetic instead of general or spinal anesthesia, automatically reducing the risks of the procedure.
RFA provides the same outcomes as the more invasive vein stripping procedure. We have a 99% success rate in closing the greater saphenous vein.
Call REDI Diagnostics Corp or book an appointment online today for expert treatment for your varicose veins.
