Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
Tonya Papanikolas reporting Tens of millions of people suffer from bulging, painful varicose veins. The old method of treatment was painful vein stripping, but outpatient treatments, using different kinds of energy or heat, are becoming extremely common.
"Varicose veins are just really painful. They burn, they itch. Your legs just ache," said Jill Sorensen, who had her varicose veins removed.
Rachel Leavitt, who also suffered from varicose veins, agreed. "Sitting to standing, where your blood rushes to your extremities, that's when it was most painful," she said.
Those who suffer from varicose veins say it's not just a cosmetic problem. "Once your legs go right off from the bed onto the floor, you just feel that blood just pooling, gushing right into your legs," Sorensen said.
These women recently underwent a radiofrequency catheter procedure to get rid of their pain. The doctor uses an ultrasound to guide the catheter in, and then disperses the energy. "It readily induces scar formation of the vein and closes the vein," explained Dr. Peter Jensen, of Utah Vein Specialists.
Radiofrequency is one of two catheter approaches replacing the old method of vein stripping. The other is a laser procedure. "Heat from the tip of the laser seals that vein in front of it closed," explained Dr. Ehsan Hadjbian, of The Vein Institute.
Both methods produce the same results, removing the vein from circulation.
"I think the greatest benefits of these technologies is they're better. They allow for a quicker recovery, less pain," Jensen said.
"They have no downtime. They go back to work the same day, the risk of treatments are very low, compared to the risk of surgery," Hadjibian said.
Leavitt underwent the radiofrequency procedure a week ago. She has some bruising, which should disappear soon. So far, she's loved the results. "I'm not so worried about getting pregnant again, or wearing shorts," she said.
Sorensen had the procedure six weeks ago. "It's great. There's no pain. I haven't worn my compression socks since I had surgery. It's fantastic. My leg looks great," she said.
Both women say they didn't want to undergo surgery, but with this kind of technology, there's no longer a reason to suffer with painful symptoms.
Doctors say though risks are minimal, some patients can experience numbness, tingling or, more rarely, blood clots. These outpatient procedures generally run from $2,000 to $5,000 dollars, and insurance companies often cover the costs.
