If you have varicose veins, you’re not alone. More than 40 million Americans deal with troublesome varicose veins. You know unsightly and painful varicose veins affect how you walk and move. But they can also affect how you feel about your appearance, making you feel self-conscious or too embarrassed to wear shorts or short dresses and skirts.
At Hamptons Vein & Vascular in Rutherford and Westfield, New Jersey, Rashmi Sharma, MD, and our entire care team offer treatment options, including radiofrequency ablation, to address your symptoms and improve how your legs look.
We’ve put together this guide to help you understand more about radiofrequency ablation and what it can do for you. Read on to learn if you’re a candidate for this cutting-edge treatment for unsightly varicose veins.
Why do I have varicose veins?
Healthy veins have one-way valves that help move blood back to your heart for oxygenation. Sometimes these valves fail due to age or other underlying health issues. When the valves fail, the blood flows backward into the vein, which can cause spider veins and varicose veins to develop.
Varicose veins occur most often in the legs because your blood needs to fight gravity to make it back to your heart. As the blood pools in the veins, they become large and twisted and more visible beneath your skin. In some cases, the pain of varicose veins requires treatment to prevent interference with your ability to move and walk.
How can radiofrequency ablation help?
Radiofrequency ablation is a popular treatment option for varicose veins because it treats the affected vein from the surface of the skin. In other words, with radiofrequency ablation, our team can achieve significant results without the risks of surgery.
With radiofrequency ablation, you can return to your daily routine as soon as you leave the office. And if you have spider veins in addition to varicose veins, our medical team can use radiofrequency technology to erase them at the same time.
What’s involved with radiofrequency ablation treatment?
At Hamptons Vein & Vascular, we use ultrasound technology to map your veins and plan the ablation procedure before we begin. Once the map is complete, your provider uses a thin, flexible catheter that’s inserted into the affected vein through a small incision. A local anesthetic ensures you won’t feel any pain.
Once in place, the catheter delivers heated radiofrequency energy into the vein. This causes the vein to collapse and permanently close, but your overall circulation improves because the blood continues to flow through nearby healthy veins.
Over time, your body reabsorbs the collapsed vein and its appearance is significantly reduced. In many cases, veins treated through radiofrequency ablation disappear altogether, leaving you with smooth, vein-free skin. Optimal results take a few months to appear as your body absorbs the treated vein and tissues.
The treatment takes an hour or less. Once home, you’ll need to wear compression stockings to support the treated vein and overall blood flow. You’ll also need to avoid strenuous activities and prolonged sitting for a short period.
Am I a candidate for radiofrequency ablation?
Men and women who are concerned about large varicose veins may be candidates for this cutting-edge treatment. The best way to learn if you’re a candidate for radiofrequency ablation is to meet with the team at Hamptons Vein & Vascular. Your provider performs a physical evaluation of your varicose veins and reviews your medical history to ensure the treatment is right for you.
People with narrow veins or veins that are close to the surface of the skin may not be candidates for radiofrequency ablation. If the specialists at Hamptons Vein & Vascular don’t believe radiofrequency ablation is the best option for you, they can recommend other treatment options, like sclerotherapy, to address painful varicose veins.
Learn if radiofrequency ablation is the right treatment for reducing the appearance and symptoms of varicose veins by contacting the Hamptons Vein & Vascular office nearest you today.