Vanishing Veins –
new treatments eliminate varicose veins without surgery

If you have unsightly and painful veins on your legs, you are not alone. More than likely, you are suffering from varicose veins. Approximately 25 percent of all women and 15 percent of all men suffer from varicose veins. Varicose veins are enlarged, twisted and sometimes painful superficial veins resulting from poorly functioning valves. They occur when healthy vein walls become weak and swell, causing blood to back up and pool inside the vein. Symptoms include leg pain; visible, enlarged veins; and mild swelling, skin ulcers and discoloration at the ankles. Typically, varicose veins worsen over time, so medical attention and treatment is essential.

Traditional surgical treatment involved stripping and binding the veins, a solution that many patients found very painful – and one that required up to six weeks of recovery. Fortunately, there are new non-invasive outpatient procedures that are minimally invasive.

The Lakewood Hospital Vein & Vascular Center offers the most advanced techniques for diagnosing and treating a full range of varicosities in an outpatient setting. When you visit the Vein & Vascular Center, you will receive an evaluation from a board-certified physician, who will examine your problem areas, discuss your symptoms and make recommendations that will meet your specific needs. An individualized plan for each patient’s origin of varicosity is developed with the intent to treat the source, not the symptom. As a result, the problem will be solved correctly the first time to avoid any recurrence.

There are three treatment options to eliminate spider and varicose veins available at the Vein & Vascular Center. All procedures are done in the office, without anesthesia, using only small micro-punctures into the skin with no stitching required. Following the procedure, the patient is able to walk out of the office and return to normal activity the same day.

Laser vein ablation uses advanced medical laser technology that makes varicose veins vanish without the disadvantages of traditional treatments. By utilizing a laser with infrared energy, there is minimal discomfort and immediate recovery for most patients. This procedure is an option for treating greater saphenous vein incompetence, which causes varicose veins.

Sclerotherapy eliminates spider veins and some varicose veins by injecting the vein with a solution, called “sclerosing agent.” The vast majority of sclerotherapy patients – more than 99 percent – experience significant clearing of the veins and positive results.

Phlebectomy is a micro-extraction procedure, which allows for the removal of large surface varicose veins through a micro-incision. What's more, no stitches are required. The incision or needle puncture is extremely small, and a hook is then used to extract the varicose vein through this tiny incision.

Each of these procedures is ideal for patients with active lifestyles. These quick, effective outpatient procedures have minimal discomfort allowing patients to simply walk out of the office and resume normal activities almost immediately.

By:James Bekeny, M.D., Medical Director of the Lakewood Hospital Vein & Vascular Center.

The Lakewood Hospital Vein & Vascular Center is conveniently located at the Westlake Medical Campus, 850 Columbia Road (near I-90). For more information or to schedule an appointment for your first evaluation, please call (440) 250-5760.