Why can there be a more effective treatment that doesn cause as much pain and wouldn require general anesthesia and an operating room?
There is such a treatment. It’s called saphenous vein ablation. There are two kinds: one uses radiofrequency energy and the other uses laser energy. Vein Specialists of Augusta offers both, done in our office (avoiding costly hospital charges). The radiofrequency version we do is called “VNUS Closure” and the laser version is called “CoolTouch CTEV”. VNUS Closure and CoolTouch CTEV are quite similar in many ways: In our office, the vein to be treated is accessed under ultrasound guidance. A tiny wire is threaded through the needle and using this wire, a catheter or a flexible laser filament is then placed in the vein. After several injections of an anesthetic mixture the energy (radiofrequency or laser) is turned on and the vein is treated as the catheter or filament is withdrawn. The leg is wrapped in a bandage (mainly to supply compression), and a compression stocking is applied. The bandage is removed the next day and the compression stocking should be worn for 3 weeks. These proced
