Laser
Vein Ablation is a progressive alternative to surgical
ligation and stripping. Surgical ligation and stripping is
performed under general anesthesia and involves at least two
surgical incisions in order to tie off and pull out the faulty
vein. With endovenous laser ablation there is no anesthesia
involved and there is a lower recurrence rate, shorter recovery
period, lower costs and no scarring as compared with other
procedures.
How
does the procedure work? The laser beam targets the vein
walls, shrinking them and thus closing the faulty vein so
that the blood can no longer flow through it. The laser beam
energy is from an 810nm diode laser delivered by a fine fiber-optic
probe. As it is only the probe and a slim sheath which need
to enter the vein the whole procedure is performed via a tiny
skin nick, so there will be no post operative scarring. The
probe is guided into place using ultrasound and the procedure
is performed under strictly local anesthetic of a similar
type used by dentists to numb the treatment area.
Is
the loss of this vein a problem? No. There are many veins
in the leg and after the treatment, the blood in the faulty
veins will be diverted to the normal veins and eventually
back to the heart.
What
complications are associated with this procedure? There
are potential complications with any medical procedure. The
only minimal complication yet experienced with the endovenous
laser ablation procedure has been a small number of cases
of temporary paresthesia (numbness).
Is
there any risk from the laser? No. However, as a precaution,
you will wear a pair of special eye glasses during the procedure.
How
successful is endovenous laser ablation? Results have
been extremely favorable with success rates as high as the
more painful and invasive approach of surgical ligation and
stripping. Endovenous laser ablation will normally treat the
cause of most varicose veins but additional/complimentary
therapy (such as sclerotherapy) may be necessary in some cases.
What
causes varicose veins? Veins carry blood from the tissues
eventually back to the heart. The thin walled veins can become
squeezed by muscles as they contract thus forcing the blood
into non-return valves. If the non-return valves become faulty
and fail to close, the blood can run backwards (or reflux)
and pool in the legs. If this extra blood is sitting in veins
close to the surface of the skin, the veins will swell up
and become visible and 'varicosed'.
There
is one major vein in the leg, the greater saphenous vein,
which connects to many of the superficial surface veins. Failure
of the valves in this vein is quite common and is a major
cause of surface varicose veins. The saphenous vein runs down
from the groin to the lower leg with varicose veins commonly
occurring in the lower thigh, around the knee and in the calf.
