What Varicose Veins Look Like Before and After Treatment
Why do you want vein treatment? For many, it’s the appearance of smoother legs after varicose veins treatment. With state-of-the-art, minimally invasive procedures, we can now transform legs that look:
- Misshapen
- Ropy
- Discolored
Into a look that is:
- Smoother
- More evenly pigmented
- Healthier
But although many people seek help with varicose veins because of the appearance of their legs, there are other reasons you should consider vein treatment.
Varicose veins occur because blood goes into the legs through the arteries, but it struggles to go back up the veins to the heart. This leads to blood pooling in the legs instead of going up where you need it after it re-oxygenates at the heart and lungs. As a result, your legs may feel heavy, sore, and even painful to the touch. They may feel restless or throbbing when you try to sleep.
You may also have tiny, superficial blood clots that are rarely dangerous themselves. But varicose veins may contribute to a more significant problem in people with deep vein thrombosis (DVT).
DVT leads to deep, more massive clot formations inside the veins that can break free and shoot up into the lungs. The results are a pulmonary embolism (PE), a fancy term for a blood clot that’s blocking blood flow to the lungs, a vital organ. Without a regular resupply of nutrient blood, organs die.On top of that, venous stasis ulcers and stasis dermatitis can occur because of a lack of proper flow.
But fortunately, you can get rid of varicose veins and feel better. Patients tell us how these treatments help them love their legs again. But seeing is believing. So please see our before and after images to find out what patients are talking about.
Typical Varicose Vein Treatments
Are you considering having a vein procedure? Finding the right vein treatment can help get the before and after you seek. Let’s take a look at some of the most state-of-the-art methods that can lead to before and after pictures like these.
Venaseal
Venaseal is one of the latest forms of treatment for varicose veins. It involves using an ultrasound-guided instrument to place a medical-grade adhesive on the vein, which closes it off. To simplify the procedure, your doctor strategically eliminates larger saphenous veins first. These feed smaller veins. So if you close the large ones, the rest will close and fade away.
Now, you may be thinking, but don’t I need veins to get blood back to the heart?
And that’s what’s so amazing about your body.
Your body creates new vascular pathways all the time. If we eliminate these unhealthy veins, healthier veins will develop quickly to maintain blood flow. This is called “Angiogenesis”, and it’s a natural function of your body. The new veins will work better than what you had before because we’ve eliminated the troublesome vessels.
At our center, we like this procedure because it doesn’t require heat or injection of a foam, so there’s less risk of nerve damage. All procedures carry some risk, but it’s nice when procedures reduce them.
Varithena
Varithena is a form of sclerotherapy, so it involves the use of a foam to block troublesome veins. Once we block these veins, the body will re-absorb them and redirect blood flow.
Unlike Venaseal, we only use Varithena to treat small to medium vein branches. The FDA has not approved Varithena for larger veins because it’s not as effective as other options.
That’s why it’s so crucial that your vein center specializes in several tools to offer the best solutions for your unique needs.
If larger veins need treatment, Closurefast RFA is much more effective.
Radiofrequency Ablation
RFA is a minimally invasive procedure that involves the careful application of gentle heat to the large saphenous veins. As with Venaseal, once the larger vein is closed, it will impact the smaller veins branching out from it. If that does not offer a complete solution, Your doctor can do Closurefast and Varithena in conjunction with one another over a series of sessions.
In the case of each of these procedures, insurance may pay for the procedure if they determine that there is a medical necessity. And you may need multiple treatments to get the desired results because we need to allow time for the vascular system to correct itself. During your consultation, your doctor will evaluate you and determine how many treatments you may need.
Varicose Vein Treatment – Post Procedure Care
After any of these procedures, you may need to wear compression stockings for 48 hours straight. After that, your doctor may have you wear them several hours a day for a week.
You might experience some moderate pain, pressure, and bruising. These should subside in a couple of days, and you can take OTC painkillers. But it would be best if you were careful with NSAIDs like Advil, Aleve, Midol, or Aspirin because they thin the blood.
You should have little to no downtime. So you can usually go back to work within a couple of days and resume normal activities. You should, however, avoid anything too strenuous for a couple of weeks.
We should note that there is no “cure” for varicose veins. They will come back over time, typically five-plus years. While there appears to be a significant genetic component to the development of this condition, making some lifestyle changes like avoiding long periods of sitting, getting daily exercise, not smoking, and improving your diet may prolong your results.
If you’re ready to love your legs again, we invite you to visit one of our Oregon offices to find out what your before and after could look like. We employ state-of-the-art, FDA-approved procedures to help you love your legs and get relief from any related health complications. Don’t wait. Contact us to set up a consultation.