Painless treatment for varicose veins at Apollo Hospitals Navi Mumbai

_{What are veins ?}

_{Veins are a type of blood vessel that transports deoxygenated blood from your organs back to your heart. They form part of your circulatory system, cardiovascular system or venous system.}

_{The Difference Between Normal Veins Vs. Varicose Veins}

_{Normal circulatory system}

_{The cardiovascular system is an intricate network of vessels that carry blood throughout the body. It supplies blood to all body tissues so they can function optimally. It also serves to rid the body of waste products through the venous system- veins.}

 _{The heart is at the centre of the cardiovascular system. It is a powerful organ that pumps blood to the lungs to obtain oxygen. It then sends the oxygen-rich blood to the entire body through larger vessels called arteries.}

_{When your venous system is working correctly, tiny valves inside the veins push blood back to the heart. When these valves become damaged or weak, the blood cannot return to the heart. Instead, it backs up and begins to accumulate in the veins. When the valves malfunction, the veins get dilated and tortuous called varicose veins.}

_{Varicose veins are visibly bulging on the skin’s surface and often cause redness or discoloration of the skin at the site of the affected vein. They are considered unsightly and are often a cosmetic problem. However, varicose veins may be painful if they are severe and untreated. In addition, they may cause bleeding, ulcers, and blood clots. The blood clots can travel upwards and can block blood circulation in the lungs which can be fatal.}

_{VARICOSE VEINS CHARACTERISTICS}

_{Varicose veins, on the other hand, are noticeable. They appear as enlarged, twisted blood vessels beneath the skin’s surface. As mentioned previously, these symptoms of varicose veins develop when there is a problem with the proper passage of blood in the body. For example, the valves may stop working, allowing blood to accumulate, and resulting in enlarged veins.}

_{Women are more predisposed to have varicose veins. However, some risk factors may also contribute to their occurrence, including pregnancy, genetic background, obesity, and prolonged standing.}

_{WHEN TO TALK TO YOUR HEALTHCARE PROVIDER OR VISIT A VEIN SPECIALIST}

_{While you may have a strong suspicion that the condition is developing, no matter how keen your eyes and senses are, you may only see the veins on the surface. As a result, Varicose veins and others closer to the skin may form out of sight.}

_{Seeing a vein specialist is the best way to check your veins, as they may scan a complete image of your legs using ultrasound technology to look at even the most profound veins in your legs.}

_{HOW TO PROCEED WHEN HAVING VARICOSE VEINS}

_{When you detect varicose veins in your legs, or if a specialist confirms it to you, taking the proper steps to manage the problem is crucial to the health of your veins. While for some individuals, their condition may never progress beyond its current state, others may find that symptoms become increasingly worse or may even indicate a more serious underlying condition.}

_{To keep symptoms under control, at a minimum, you should take care of them at home. These measures you should take include such things as the following:}

• _{Wear compression stockings to reduce swelling and help blood flow, helping slow down their development.}
• _{Exercise more regularly, especially in physical activities such as swimming, running, and walking.}
• _{Reduce consumption of food high in sugar and fat.}

_{If your veins cause swelling, discomfort, itching, pain, or other symptoms, it is worth speaking to a vein specialist doctor to see how you should treat them. With actual treatments without pain that require no downtime, treating your veins is a better option than ever.}

_{BEST TREATMENTS FOR VARICOSE VEINS}

_{At Apollo Hospitals, Navi Mumbai we offer a variety of minimally invasive varicose vein treatments that our vein specialists perform under local anaesthesia and include the following:}

_{VEIN ABLATION or Endovenous Laser Treatment (EVLT): Vein ablation treatment locates the damaged vein with ultrasound before using laser heat to collapse the vein wall and destroy the cause of the problem.}

_{For over ten years, endovenous laser ablation has been a very effective and proven minimally invasive treatment for varicose veins.} 

_{Dr. M V Reddy has done more than 500 laser ablations for varicose veins and published and presented papers at national and international level}

_{SCLEROTHERAPY (foam or fluid): Sclerotherapy is an injectable treatment that involves injecting a foam or fluid sclerosing solution into the affected veins to cause inflammation and expel blood from the area that will eventually close the vein.}

_{VENASEAL TREATMENT: VenaSeal treatment for varicose veins uses a medical adhesive the vein specialist applies inside the vein through a small catheter. The vein specialist closes the vein, and the blood redirects through other healthy veins.}

_{Treating varicose veins with vein glue}

_{Vein glue is an exciting advancement in the treatment of varicose veins. It is a medical-grade adhesive (n-butyl-2-cyanoacrylate) that is safe for use inside the human body.}

_{During your vein glue procedure, it  will begin by numbing an area on your calf with a small needle prick. They will then insert a catheter through your numbed skin and into your vein. The flexible catheter will be threaded all the way to the top of your vein, near your groin and guided by ultra-sound through the affected area. Once in place the superglue like adhesive gets injected incrementally into the effected vein. and external  pressure  compression  applied over the area sealing the vein with the glue. This process will be  repeated along the length of your leg until the entire vein is sealed shut}

_{Several benefits were raised in favour of the VenaSeal treatment}

• _{One being that you are not required to wear a stocking after the procedure compared to most laser treatments where one is usually required after the session.}
• _{Secondly, VenaSeal treatment does not require general anaesthesia instead uses minor local anaesthetics and intravenous sedation if required.}

_{How long will the VenaSeal procedure take?}

_{For this procedure, you will be at Apollo Hospitals for about a few hours for observation, though the actual treatment will not take that long.}

_{How safe is VenaSeal?}

_{VenaSeal is a relatively new technology, but has been rigorously studied and proven to be very safe. However, no medical procedure is without risk. You may experience bruising, tenderness, bleeding or swelling particularly at the injection site. This typically resolves in a few days.}

_{In rare instances (fewer than 1%), patients may develop an allergic reaction to the glue. There is also a small risk of developing a blood clot.}

_{What to expect after VenaSeal surgery?}

• _{Immediately after surgery, your injection site will be cleaned and a small adhesive bandage is applied. You’ll be asked to keep the incision site dry for the next 8 hours.}
• _{Vein glue is the only venous closure option that does not require the use of compression stockings after; however, you may choose to wear them if it feels better to you.}
• _{You’ll be encouraged to walk for 10-20 minutes three times a day for the next two to three weeks to promote healing and prevent blood clots.}

_{Which varicose vein treatment is better?}

_{Every patient is different, so it’s best to talk to your doctor about which varicose vein treatment is right for you. However,  we have generally seen patients who have vein closure using VenaSeal experience less bruising and less discomfort compared to laser surgery.}

_{If you’d like to discuss your treatment options please contact our specialist  Dr. M V Reddy at Apollo Hospitals, Navi Mumbai.}

_{Call 022 6280 6280 for an appointment.}