Patient 1
41 year old woman who presented with a 10 year history of lower extremity discomfort described as “heaviness”, “tiredness” and progressively worsening varicose veins. She ultimately was approved by her insurance carrier for Endovenous Laser Ablation of the Right Great Saphenous vein as well as sclerotherapy injections to treat the residual varicose veins.
Patient 2
51 year old woman with symptomatic varicose and spider veins for many years. She ultimately had an Endovenous Laser Ablation of the Right Great Saphenous vein and multiple sessions of sclerotherapy.
Patient 3
27 year old man with large symptomatic varicose veins that became noticeable after significant weight loss. Procedures: Endovenous Laser Ablation and sclerotherapy.
Patient 4
56 year old woman with chronic leg discomfort and progressively worsening varicose veins. Endovenous ablation of the Left Great Saphenous vein was performed, followed by sclerotherapy injections.
The important take-away from all of the cases is that:
- The initial benefit, seen in every case within the first few weeks after endovenous ablation, was symptom relief. Yes, the legs look better…but they feel better first.
- These amazing results were achieved without any surgical intervention! Not even “microsurgery” for the varicose veins. Rather, patience and sclerotherapy injections. My practice style is VERY conservative. I am all about the mantra “start low and go slow” that is prudent in many fields of medicine…and other aspects of life! Regarding chronic venous disease, I choose to “stage” patients. Rather than doing an endovenous ablation and at the same visit do microsurgery on varicose veins (multiple incisions and physically strip little veins out), I split the treatment course into Stage 1: Endovenous ablation. I then allow the patient to heal for a few weeks. During this time it is not uncommon to see a significant decrease in the size of varicose veins. In Stage 2: Sclerotherapy…we clear up what’s left of the varicose veins by gently, safely injecting them and allow the body to gradually heal them.
- The procedures that lead to wonderful results such as these are VERY well tolerated by patients. They require only local anesthetic. In the case of Clarivein®, only a tiny bit of local anesthetic is required in the first few seconds of the procedure. The remainder of the procedure is spent in comfort and relaxation. At least I try to make it so with good music and witty repartee. Fanning patients? Yes. Feeding you grapes? Um, no.
- During the entire process of going from “Before” to “After” there is NO DOWNTIME. In fact, I often encourage patients to be MORE active. Most can immediately return to work.
- Speaking of work…all of the procedures can be accomplished during lunch breaks from work. Procedure times range from 30-90 minutes (though are often completed in far less time).
- Most patients seen above had commercial insurance and their procedures were covered. For the patients without insurance, reasonable payment plans were established. I really strive to make sure that patients are as comfortable with the financial aspects of their treatment as they are with the medical aspects.
These results are potentially achievable for you…and I would LOVE to be able to add you to the long list of success stories. But, it’s a team effort: the first step is to make the commitment to YOU to start down the road toward legs that feel better than they have in years and look fantastic!
