Treatment time for varicose veins will vary, depending upon the type of treatment procedure selected and the severity of the varicose veins. It’s important to schedule an examination at the doctor’s office as soon as varicose veins cause such symptoms of redness, swelling or itching, causes changes in skin color, bleeding, pain or forces the patient to adjust daily activities due to discomfort. Any time invested in treating varicose veins will help to relieve symptoms and improve the skin’s appearance.
One of the fastest treatment methods for varicose veins is laser surgery. The procedure can be done in a doctor’s office and usually takes no more than 20 minutes. It involves the use of laser light to help make the veins fade away with no cutting or chemical injections necessary. Another same day in-office procedure is Endovenous Ablation Therapy. This involves having the area around the vein numbed so that the doctor can insert a small heated tube near the vein that seals it off. A patient may need to return for several visits over a 30 day period, depending on the number of varicose veins they need treated.
Microsclerotherapy and sclerotherapy are both in-office procedures that do not take a lot of treatment time but are best used on very small spider veins. The doctor uses a very fine needle to inject a chemical solution into the vein in order to cause it to become closed. Once this is done, the varicose vein is unlikely to reappear. Treatments are scheduled every four to six weeks and the legs must be bandaged during the healing process.
Endoscopic vein surgery is a more serious procedure that will involve a recovery time of up to several weeks. It involves cutting the area near the vein in order to insert a surgical device led by miniature camera to help close off the blood supply feeding the vein. This treatment is best for more serious varicose veins that tend to cause sores and bleeding to develop.
Ambulatory Phlebectomy is an in-office treatment that requires numbing of the skin so that the doctor can cut the skin in order to remove small veins nearest the skin’s surface. This tends to permanently eliminate varicose veins and requires little recovery time.
Although Vein Stripping and Ligation is a treatment done on an outpatient basis, it is reserved for the most serious cases of varicose veins. It involves removing the veins themselves by making small cuts in the skin while the patient is under anesthesia. Recovery time for this treatment can take as long as one month.