Endovenous laser treatment of varicose veins

Varicose veins are swollen, bulging and twisted blue veins which are mainly caused due to high blood pressure inside your veins. Factors such as hormonal changes, obesity, lack of physical activity and pregnancy may increase the risk of varicose veins. Laser therapy is one of the newest ways of treating varicose veins. This treatment can be performed externally or by an endovenous laser ablation method.

The endovenous laser method is a minimally invasive procedure which is performed for larger varicose veins. In this procedure a laser fiber is inserted into the vein till it reaches the affected area. The fiber then emits a laser which produces heat and forms blood clots in the vessel. This blood vessel gradually shrinks and disappears. This is an outpatient procedure and takes about 30 minutes.

This procedure has various advantages such as;

• Veins present deep inside the skin can be treated.
• Laser can be used on all skin tones as it is not highly absorbed by melanin
• Less pain and discomfort
• Very fast and does not require hospitalization

Laser treatment may have a few side effects such as reddening, swelling or mild bruising in the treated area in the first few hours of treatment.