WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES OF EVLT OVER CONVENTIONAL VEIN STRIPPING?
Vein stripping was the gold standard for management of varicose veins in the past. The process involves general or spinal anesthesia, followed by an incision in the groin and ankle. The greater saphenous vein was then cannulated with a device that was used to essentially avulse the vein from the leg. This was a brutal procedure, and the recovery time was painful and porlonged, with significant bruising and pain. There was a high incidence of saphenous neuritis, or pain along the inside part of the leg due to injury to a nerve that runs beside the saphenous vein that is being removed. EVLT is performed in the office under local anesthesia, avoiding the potential pitfalls of general or spinal anesthesia. The whole process takes 45-90 minutes. We use tumescent local anesthesia around the vein. That means under ultrasound guidance, a very dilute mixture of local anesthesia in infiltrated around the vein. This blocks the pain sensation fibers around the vein, and moves the nerve that travel
