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Stripping veins is outdated
WARREN
“Vein stripping is outmoded,” said Dr. Rao Sudheendra, a well-known area cardiovascular thoracic surgeon, who exclusively uses minimally invasive modern technology to treat and eliminate varicose veins.
In vein stripping, the surgeon makes an incision on the patient’s leg above the ankle and ties off the vein, after which a stripper tool is threaded into the vein and used to pull it out of the leg through a second incision made in the groin, he said.
The modern tools of choice for himself and many other area doctors to treat varicose veins are the Federal Drug Administration-approved VNUS Closure procedure, Endovenous laser and the newest device in his practice, the Veinwave, Dr. Sudheendra said.
Closure procedure, powered by radio-frequency energy, has been nicknamed the “lunch break” procedure because some patients can go back to work immediately after the treatment, he said.
“Typically, patients return to normal activities within a day,” Dr. Sudheendra said. And, for a few weeks after the treatment, a regular walking regimen and avoidance of heavy lifting or extended periods of standing may be recommended, he said.
With the closure procedure, a catheter is inserted into the vein through a small puncture over the upper portion of the leg and, using radio frequency or the microwave energy, the vein is closed shut by sealing it and stopping the reflux. The sealed vein stays as scar tissue and does not cause a problem, the doctor added.
The Endovenous laser procedure works similar to the closure procedure except the energy used is from a laser, which boils the blood inside the vein killing the vein lining, the doctor said.
“The laser procedure has a 99 percent success rate in terms of closing the vein; the closure procedure, a 95 percent success rate,” Dr. Sudheendra said.
The Veinwave, a new FDA approved device, is a particularly useful instrument for the treatment of spider veins that are too small for sclerotherapy, he said. It generates radio-frequency heat energy via an ultra-fine, insulated needle which causes the vein walls to stick together, collapse and disappear.
“There is no risk of scarring or bruising, and there is no need to wear stockings or avoidance of exposure to sunlight. The results are immediate,” he said.
Venous reflux, the disease that the procedures treat, develops when valves in the veins that keep blood flowing only toward the heart are damaged or diseased and don’t work properly. The valves themselves cannot be repaired as they are too delicate, Dr. Sudheendra said.
While the most common manifestation of venous reflux is varicose veins, other symptoms include spider veins, pain, burning, swelling, leg heaviness or fatigue and skin discoloration and in advanced stages, ulcers. Restless-leg syndrome also can be attributed to venous reflux disease in certain patients, he said.
“A common misunderstanding is that treating venous reflux is done strictly for cosmetic reasons,” Dr. Sudheendra said.
Though improved appearance is a positive side-effect, venous reflux is a disease, the treatment of which is covered by most major insurance carriers, Medicare, TRICARE military insurance and the Veterans Affairs Department, he said.
The most common causes of vein reflux, a disease that affects millions of Americans, are heredity, hormonal effects and type of work that requires prolonged sitting or standing, such as bank tellers, factory workers, hair dressers, nurses, physicians, teachers and truck drivers. Obesity and lack of activity also are factors, he said.
“Venous reflux disease, in some form, occurs more in women than men; affecting about 50 percent of men over 50 and about 66 percent of women over the age of 60,” he said.