Minimally invasive ablation to treat varicose veins
Varicose veins in the legs are a common condition associated with peripheral artery disease (PAD), occurring when veins near the surface of the leg stretch, bulge and twist. If left untreated, varicose veins can cause leg pain, a leg wound, a foot wound or even overall fatigue.
One treatment option for this form of PAD is minimally invasive ablation, an outpatient surgical procedure performed by vascular surgeons on the medical staff at Baylor Scott & White Heart and Vascular Hospital – Dallas to destroy varicose veins with bursts of radiofrequency or laser energy. First, the vascular surgeon maps a patient’s leg veins using duplex ultrasound to mark varicose veins on the skin. Next, the surgeon passes a catheter—a long, thin tube—through a small nick in the skin above the vein and moves the catheter to the end of the vein, activating a radiofrequency generator or sending laser pulses through the catheter and then slowly retracting it.
This heat destroys tissue along the length of the vein. The vein then collapses and is eventually reabsorbed by the body. The varicose vein treatment procedure at our Dallas heart hospital takes about 60 minutes and may relieve symptoms immediately.
Vein stripping to treat varicose veins
Vein stripping removes large varicose veins and their tributaries to alleviate leg pain symptoms associated with varicose veins.
After making a small incision in a patient's groin, the vascular surgeon removes the great saphenous vein after disconnecting any tributary veins.
While usually an outpatient surgical procedure at our Dallas heart hospital, vein stripping to treat varicose veins is commonly performed in the operating room.
Stab phlebectomy treats varicose veins
Phlebectomy, also known as microphlebectomy, ambulatory phlebectomy or stab evulsion, is a procedure to remove varicose veins.
In this minimally invasive outpatient procedure, several small incisions are made in the skin to remove varicose veins. Stitches are ordinarily not required after a stab phlebectomy procedure.
This technique may be performed along with other treatment options at our heart hospital in Dallas, such as vein stripping, to help remove varicose veins.