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4 Advantages of VenaSeal for Treating Varicose Veins

4 Advantages of VenaSeal for Treating Varicose Veins

Varicose veins are responsible for all kinds of discomfort. Itching, burning, bulging veins, tired legs–the list goes on. But what if you didn’t have to live with the constant discomfort of varicose veins? What if you could get safe, effective treatment that would have you back to your regular activities as early as the next day? VenaSeal is a new, minimally invasive procedure that treats varicose veins more quickly and effectively than ever.


What are Varicose Veins?

comparing healthy and diseased veins.

Veins are the highways of the body. They carry blood pumped by the heart along a network of “roads” (arteries and veins) to bring oxygen to all parts of the body. The body’s natural movement helps pump blood back to the heart, which sends it out again in a continuous cycle.

All veins have valves that act like traffic signals, opening and closing to make sure blood is always flowing the correct direction. Varicose veins are veins with broken valves. In a varicose vein, blood flows backward and stays in the vein. This causes the vein to expand, stretch, and become twisted, which prevents it from circulating blood effectively.

The American Society for Vascular Surgery estimates that 20-25 million Americans have varicose veins.

Symptoms

A woman with varicose veins holds her leg in pain

Varicose veins can almost always be identified by their blue or purple color and twisting, bulging, or cord-like appearance. This condition occurs most often in the legs where the blood is farthest away from the heart.

Some patients are bothered by the way varicose veins look, while others experience itching, pain, and tiredness in their legs.

In the most extreme cases, patients suffer bleeding, vein hardening, and skin ulcers near the ankle. These symptoms indicate serious vascular disease. If you are experiencing any of them, you should seek medical attention.

VenaSeal: An Effective, Minimally Invasive Treatment Option

VenaSeal is a minimally-invasive outpatient procedure performed by trained medical professionals. It’s been increasing in popularity and has developed a reputation as one of the best treatments available for varicose veins.

Unlike other options that cauterize or physically remove a varicose vein, VenaSeal uses a medical adhesive to close the vein. Using an adhesive makes the procedure much more comfortable for the patient. It also reduces the recovery time as patients are usually able to resume regular activities just a day after a VenaSeal procedure.

The VenaSeal Procedure

During a VenaSeal procedure, the doctor starts by taking an ultrasound of the area around your varicose vein. This makes a map of the damaged veins, which helps your doctor know which veins to treat. Varicose veins are not always visible on the surface of the skin.

After making the map of your veins, your doctor will administer a local anesthetic to numb the area being operated on. The doctor will then use a needle to insert a catheter into the varicose vein. Your doctor will use ultrasound to guide the catheter through the varicose vein, administering the medical adhesive as they go and applying pressure to close the vein. The medical adhesive holds the vein together, stopping the blood flow through the vein and redirecting it to healthy veins.

After a time, the body will reabsorb the closed veins, causing them to disappear. Most patients see marked improvement in the appearance of their legs within 4 weeks after the procedure.

4 Advantages of VenaSeal

An infographic showing the 4 biggest advantages of VenaSeal

VenaSeal has some advantages to other varicose vein treatment options:

Just one needle prick
Other varicose vein treatments require several needle sticks to close a varicose vein. With VenaSeal, only one stick is necessary to give the catheter access to the vein.

No discomfort during the procedure
Other procedures use heat or lasers to close varicose veins. That can cause burning or other uncomfortable sensations. VenaSeal uses glue to close varicose veins, so the only thing patients feel is the doctor pressing on their leg to close the treated vein.

Reduced recovery time
VenaSeal patients are usually able to return to normal activities just one day after being treated.

No compression socks
After being treated with VenaSeal, patients aren’t required to wear compression socks. Since the veins are glued together, there is no extra healing the body needs to do, making compression socks unnecessary.

VenaSeal at UVA

VenaSeal is one of the best options available to treat varicose veins. The UVA Vein Clinic in Charlottesville, VA is the first clinic in the area to offer VenaSeal as a treatment for varicose veins. You don’t need a doctor’s referral to get your varicose veins treated–call us today to schedule a consultation with one of our vein specialists at (434) 924-2722.


 

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