For too long, you've kept your legs under wraps because of varicose veins and you want them (your legs, not these veins) to come out of hiding. As a new year approaches, now’s the time to make some great changes — and getting rid of varicose veins certainly counts.
Since varicose veins affect up to 30% of the general population, it makes sense that we’ve answered the call with a wide variety of treatment options. Here at Upper East Side Cardiology, Dr. Satjit Bhusri and our team have helped scores of people get rid of pesky varicose veins through our dedicated Vein Institute. Here’s how.
Before we get into your treatment options, we want to make one important point: Varicose veins form in superficial veins, which are only responsible for about 10% of the blood flow from your legs back up to your heart. So, the treatments we use don’t impact the circulation in your legs in any negative way.
At our practice, we offer four great ways in which we can help you step into the new year, free from varicose veins. including:
First up in our varicose vein treatment arsenal is VenaSeal, which is a specially formulated medical adhesive that seals your diseased vein. Once closed, your blood reroutes to healthier vessels and the treated vein shrivels up and is reabsorbed by your body.
With ClosureFast, we use radiofrequency ablation to close your varicose vein. To deliver the energy, we insert a catheter into the vein and, after we release the heat, we withdraw the catheter and the vein closes up.
Another technique for shutting down varicose veins is to inject a sclerosing agent. In the case of Varithena, we inject a microfoam that closes off the vein, causing it to collapse. We only need to use the needle once or twice for each treatment and you can be in and out in about an hour.
Lastly, we offer Asclera (here’s a link to a recent blog post in which we took a deeper dive into the treatment). In a nutshell, with Asclera, we inject polidocanol, which is a sclerosing agent that seals your varicose vein.
With each of these treatments, there’s no downtime afterward, but we do recommend that you wear compression stockings as much as possible to aid your veins in pushing blood back up to your heart.
Your results depend upon how quickly your body processes the treated vein, but most of our clients realize varicose vein-free legs in 3-6 weeks. If your varicose veins are large or numerous and you require several treatments, it may be a few months before your legs are completely free and clear. In either case, you’ll be able to break out the leg-revealing clothes next spring and summer with confidence.
To step into the new year with legs that are free from varicose veins, simply contact our New York City office on the Upper East Side of Manhattan to set up an appointment. You can also call (212) 752-3464.
