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Vein Treatment
Comprehensive Varicose & Spider Vein Treatment
Treatment for painful or embarrassing spider veins and varicose veins is now available without the need for invasive vein surgery (or ‘vein stripping’).
Virginia Vein Care, a leading vein treatment clinic with offices in McLean and Purcellville, VA, offers a range of minimally invasive, state-of-the-art alternatives to vein surgery, including RF closure and sclerotherapy. If your legs are sore or painful, or have a “heavy feeling” as if you have been on your feet all day, you may very well have venous reflux disease.
Many vein treatments relieve symptoms without curing the underlying venous reflux disease that causes varicose veins and spider veins and may eventually lead to leg ulcers. At Virginia Vein Care, our vein specialists such as renowned vascular surgeon Dr. Lawrence Markovitz and their knowledgeable staff will find a minimally invasive care plan to treat your varicose veins by dealing with their underlying cause.
Diagnosing Vein Conditions
At Virginia Vein Care, we use duplex ultrasound to diagnose vein disease. Ultrasound is non-invasive and painless, and allows us to examine the blood flow in your veins to determine the extent of any vein disease. We use this information to recommend an individualized care plan to treat your varicose veins using the most effective, minimally invasive procedures available.
Varicose Vein Treatment
Endovenous Radiofrequency Ablation (VNUS Closure®, ClosureFast™, Venefit™)
The VNUS Closure® procedure or RF closure (radiofrequency closure) offers a minimally invasive alternative to traditional vein surgery and is used to treat saphenous, superficial, and varicose veins.
During RF closure, a tiny radiofrequency catheter is inserted into the vein. The catheter delivers gentle RF energy as it is withdrawn, heating the vein wall and causing the collagen in the wall to shrink and the vein to close. Once the diseased vein is closed, blood is re-routed to other healthy veins.
Unlike traditional vein surgery, RF closure is performed in the convenience of our office under local anesthesia. The procedure also offers a quick recovery, and most patients resume normal activities the same day they receive the treatment.
Endovenous Laser Ablation (EVLA)
EVLA can be performed on varicose veins that previously could only be treated with vein surgery. It is a minimally-invasive procedure using a laser fiber inserted directly into the vein.
EVLA is performed in the office under local anesthesia, and usually takes less than 45 minutes to complete. It involves little to no pain, and most patients are back to normal activities immediately following the procedure.
Ultrasound-Guided Sclerotherapy
Deeper veins that are not visible on the surface may be treated by using duplex ultrasound together with sclerotherapy. Ultrasound-guided sclerotherapy is particularly helpful in treating larger, non-saphenous varicose veins.
Reticular and spider veins can be treated in a manner similar to Ultrasound-Guided Sclerotherapy but after the more prominent veins have been dealt with.
This procedure utilizes a sclerosant which is injected into the vein which shuts them down, allowing them to be reabsorbed eventually by the body. Up to three separate treatments are common.
Ambulatory phlebectomy is a minimally invasive technique for the direct removal of residual unsightly bulging and varicose veins. It is performed under local anesthesia, through tiny punctures that typically leave no scars and require no skin sutures.
After treatment, a compression bandage or compression stockings are worn and the patient is able to walk and drive. This technique differs significantly from vein stripping and should not be confused with that procedure.
Due to advances in other vein treatment techniques, ambulatory phlebotomy procedures are rarely required and seldomly recommended by the physicians at Virginia Vein Care.
Varithena® (Polidocanol Injectable Foam)
Varithena® is an FDA-approved non-surgical procedure used to reduce the appearance of varicose veins caused by problems in the longest vein in the body, the great saphenous vein (GSV). Our team uses this minimally-invasive procedure as an adjunct to other ablation procedures. Varithena® is performed on men and women who suffer from varicose veins, but it’s important to note that it is not a cure, and the effects might not be permanent.
Spider Vein Treatments
Sclerotherapy
In sclerotherapy, a very small needle – the size of a human hair – injects a chemical solution known as a “sclerosing agent” into the vein. The solution causes the lining of the vein to swell, shutting it down. The body will eventually absorb the treated vein.
Sclerotherapy vein treatment may be used to treat varicose veins as well as spider veins. Sclerotherapy takes only a matter of minutes, although several sessions may be required to fully treat spider veins.
VeinGogh offers a superior solution for the treatment of fine telangiectasia (thread veins), spider veins and small angiomas. It can be used on any skin type and usually only requires a single 20-25 minute vein treatment.
During VeinGogh treatment, a hair-thin probe delivers a ‘microburst’ of energy to selectively heat the vein, coagulate blood within it, and collapse the vessel to facilitate body reabsorption.
VeinGogh treatment offers an excellent alternative for fine thread veins on the face, nose, cheeks or anywhere else on the body. Find out more on the official VeinGogh website.
Treatment for Venous Ulcers
We also treat venous ulcers, a condition that affects up to 1.8 million people in the United States. Venous ulcers make up the single most chronic wound type treated in wound care centers.
Treatments typically used in the past, centering on antibiotics, salves and compression therapy, often failed or left patients vulnerable to a recurrence of the venous ulcer.
Today, venous ulcers (which are frequently associated with abnormal perforator veins) can be effectively treated more effectively using radiofrequency (the VNUS Closure procedure described above), laser or chemical ablation.
Venous ulcers might be treated alone or in conjunction with other vein conditions.
Closure® is a registered trademark of VNUS Medical Technologies, Inc. (San Jose, CA)