You will be able to walk immediately after the procedure. You may return to work on the day after the procedure. You will be wearing prescription stockings, which will apply gentle pressure to the veins that were treated, in order to fully close them. These stockings must be worn for 3 weeks. During this time, you should take it easy and refrain from heavy exertion, such as running, skiing, weight lifting.

Very little pain is involved. During the procedure, we will administer local anesthesia injections, similar to when a dentist numbs your gums before working on them.

Veins begin to bulge when the valves inside the veins give out and begin to leak. This allows blood to "leak" back down to your legs and feet when you stand up, due to the effect of gravity. Over time, this large volume and pressure of blood in the leg veins causes them to bulge and become "varicose".

Typically, you should see improvement within 2-4 weeks, but results do vary from person to person.

Vein procedures are extremely safe and risks/side effects are rare. Risks and side effects include bleeding, infection, scarring, nerve damage, persistent numbness, skin pigmentation.

Varicose vein procedures are covered by Medicare and most PPO insurance plans. You are advised, however, to check your individual plan. Spider vein treatments are considered cosmetic and generally are not covered by insurance plans.

Most patients (greater than 90%) have significant improvement of their symptoms and varicose veins after completing a treatment course. Note that, depending on the severity of disease, often more than one session, and sometimes multiple sessions, are required.

In general, long term results are good. Keep in mind, however, that varicose veins and chronic venous insufficiency are chronic conditions and do have a tendency to recur in other areas of the leg. If you have varicose veins now, then you will always have a propensity for getting them again in the future. Also, varicose veins typically run in families.

There are several types of procedures that we perform at our vein center. These are: Endovenous Laser Ablation (EVLA); Ultrasound-Guided Chemical Ablation, also known as "Foam Sclerotherapy;" Ambulatory Phlebectomy; Sclerotherapy. The type of procedure you will need will largely be determined by the results of a complete Ultrasound Vein Mapping Study. This ultrasound study, done in our Vascular Lab, examines the deep and superficial veins in your legs and assesses for blood clots and for venous reflux (leaky vein valves). It gives important information about the location and severity of your vein disease.

After the veins are ablated, gentle constant pressure is required to keep them closed as the healing process occurs. This is accomplished by prescription compression stockings. Without this constant pressure achieved with the stocking, the veins may not completely close, and the varicose veins may not all go away. The typical strengths of compression hose used after vein ablation are 20-30 mmHg or 30-40 mmHg. Knee-high or thigh-high hose may be required, depending on the location of the treatment.

When the veins are treated, blood often leaks out of them and into the surrounding tissue and skin. This gives an appearance much like a bruise (It is, in fact a bruise). The bruised area gets its brown/purple color by the bilirubin in the blood cells. Your body eventually digests away and removes this pigment. The rate at which the pigmentation resolves differs from person to person, but can take anywhere from weeks to months. Pigmentation is particularly notable in light-skinned individuals. Excessive sun exposure in the weeks following your vein treatment can cause increased pigmentation.