Varicose veins are responsible, to a great extent, for bringing blood back to the heart again, but when the valves of the superficial system of the lower brains are damaged, varicose veins appear. As Dr. Cachaldora del Río, Vascular Surgeon at Abaton Medical Center in A Coruña, explains.
Our venous system has the mission to make the blood return to the heart from the different tissues to be oxygenated again. This function is largely performed thanks to the valves that exist in the veins to avoid the effect of gravity. When the valves of the superficial system of the lower limbs (the one immediately under the skin) are damaged, some venous sectors dilate and varicose veins appear. It is not only the aesthetic component but also the consequences of the abnormal accumulation of blood in the legs that make vascular surgeons recommend their assessment. There are several treatments and almost all of them try to eliminate them, to exclude them in some way, so that the blood returns through the healthy veins inside the limb.
1-Treatment of varicose veins by surgery
It is the classic method, although very evolved and improved thanks to the incorporation of Eco-doppler marking; this facilitates the identification of the sectors that we are most interested in eliminating or which is the point of origin of the problem to affect it directly. The number of incisions is also significantly limited. The diseased veins are removed without consequences because in reality they were no longer fulfilling their function correctly, the blood will return through other healthy veins. Generally requires spinal anesthesia and a very short hospitalization. It leaves small incisions with minimal aesthetic impact on the limb. It is perhaps the most universally accepted and experienced method among vascular surgeons. Well performed, it avoids many recurrences (appearance of new varicose veins).
2-Radiofrequency treatment of varicose veins
In this case, in an attempt to eliminate dilated veins, we resort to the physical effect of heat. A catheter is introduced through a simple puncture or a minimal incision through the vein that we want to eliminate and whose tip has the ability to be heated to 120 º C which causes the vein to burn inside and stop circulating blood through it, which eliminates its consequences.
The surrounding tissues must be protected from this heat source by injecting anesthetic serum around the vein. The result is very good although if the venous sector is very branched we will have to resort to small additional incisions and surgical extraction of these branches. It can be performed with light sedation. It does not require hospitalization or at most a few hours in a short stay unit and the aesthetic result is, in cases where it is indicated, very good.
3-Treatment of varicose veins by foam sclerotherapy
Here we resort to the chemical effect of a very irritating substance for the “target” vein that causes it to undergo inflammation, coagulation of the blood inside, and subsequent disappearance by reabsorption.
To increase the contact of the substance with the vein wall, the sclerosant is injected by mixing it with air and converting it into a foam that remains longer inside the vein and therefore increases its effect. The vein thromboses and disappears with time. It is a technique that does not require anesthesia because the punctures are performed with very low profile needles that produce minimal discomfort. It was initially developed for varicose and spider veins (low or very low caliber varicose veins), although some trends suggest that it also works well in larger varicose veins.