Treating a Serious Traffic Jam: Why It’s Important to Be Seen for Varicose Vein Treatment

How Are Varicose Veins Treated?

Veins are responsible for transporting blood from the body back to heart, where it’s loaded with oxygen before being distributed to the rest of the body again. Leg veins have the toughest “transportation job” because they have to push the blood against the force of gravity in an uphill motion. To assist in this task, veins have one-way “stop” valves that prevent the blood from flowing backward. When the valves don’t work properly, it causes blood in the legs to pool, which causes the veins to dilate and swell.

In the old days, “vein stripping” was the way to alleviate the issue, requiring a patient to have major surgery, a general anesthetic and sometimes months of time off their feet recovering. Nowadays, with laser technology, we have the ability to manage the problem in a minimally invasive way through laser closure, or “laser ablation”, sealing the vein completely shut with the use of a tiny catheter.

Remember: you have thousands upon thousands of veins working in tandem with each other to deliver your blood to your heart. Losing one varicose vein segment may then reroute the bloodstream to all those other healthy veins that can carry on and do the job superbly. Just like closing down one blocked-off highway — other highways will keep traffic moving just fine.