What Is the Most Successful Treatment for Varicose Veins?

A few decades ago, vein stripping surgery was one of the only options for varicose veins. But now, there are several ways to treat varicose veins non-surgically. Minimally invasive varicose vein treatments don’t require anesthesia or hospitalization, and the risks and recovery period are both minimized by a non-surgical approach. If you’re wondering, “What is the most successful treatment for varicose veins,” the answer depends on a few variables. Our Harvard-trained vein doctors analyze your medical history, physical symptoms, and unique venous pathways before selecting your varicose vein treatment. Our top four methods are listed below, with their common brand names in parentheses. Book an appointment to learn which one we recommend for you.

• Sclerotherapy (Asclera or Varithena)
• Radiofrequency Ablation (VNUS Closure or ClosureFast)
• Mechanochemical Ablation (ClariVein)
• Vein Adhesives (VenaSeal)

For most patients, minimally invasive treatments like the ones listed above are more successful than surgery because, when done correctly, they prevent a recurrence of varicose veins. Surgically cutting the vein out can cause it to grow back. If the blood vessel revascularizes, it won’t contain valves. These internal valves are what keep blood flowing in the right direction to help prevent blood accumulation, which causes varicose veins. So, a vein that grows back is more likely to become varicose.

Minimally invasive vein treatments don’t extract the vein. They close the vein off inside the body and reroute blood into healthy veins nearby. Over time, the treated vein is absorbed by the body and removed from circulation. So, when it’s performed properly, a minimally invasive procedure has a higher success rate than surgery. In addition, surgery carries risks like anesthesia complications, infection, scarring, bleeding, pain, nerve damage, and blood clots, all of which are minimized or eliminated by non-surgical procedures.

Does that mean that no one should have vein surgery? No. Some patients need to have surgery for their safety if they have issues like a blood clot in a deep vein (deep vein thrombosis). Deep veins pump blood toward the heart and lungs. So, if you inject a treatment into a vein that causes a clot to dislodge and travel, it can block an essential artery. For most patients, a minimally invasive treatment is the safest option. But it’s important to see a vein doctor, not a cosmetic vein specialist, because qualified doctors have the tools and training to look for issues like clots in your great saphenous vein.

If you have a vein complication that prevents you from having a minimally invasive treatment, you might be a candidate for ambulatory phlebectomy. This is a surgical extraction of the vein, but it has less risks than traditional vein stripping surgery. The vein doctor uses local, rather than general, anesthesia. And the vein is removed through punctures, instead of large incisions. If you’re able to have Varithena, VenaSeal, ClariVein, or VNUS ClosureFast, we recommend these before ambulatory phlebectomy. But if not, this surgery is one to consider for an easier and safer recovery.

If you want successful leg vein treatment, it helps to know why blood vessels in legs become varicose or spider veins. Arteries pump oxygenated blood from the heart throughout the body. Deoxygenated blood is transferred from the arteries to the veins. Veins pump blood back to the heart to collect more oxygen. Leg veins must pump blood from the feet to the heart while resisting gravity and body weight. They rely on small valves to close after blood passes through, to keep it moving upward. But these valves can fail, especially in leg veins because of the forces working against them.

When valves fail, blood leaks backward, elevating endovenous pressure. This makes them swell and twist, creating the varicose veins bulging beneath your skin. It also causes tiny new veins to branch out from the engorged vein. These are spider veins. Spider veins are dead ends for circulation because they don’t lead back to the heart. Varicose veins are detrimental to circulation because they’re slower at circulating blood. Eliminating these veins is safe with the right vein doctor who reroutes blood into healthier veins nearby.

The reason you need a qualified vein doctor for leg veins is that valve failure happens in deeper veins, producing the visible surface damage. Cosmetic vein clinics only treat surface damage, not underlying causes. You might develop more spider veins and varicose veins until the issue is addressed. Our vein experts treat varicose veins, spider veins, and their cause within minutes, using minimally invasive procedures. We have ultrasound technology that other clinics lack, which allows us to find the problem and treat it with precision.

Facial spider veins don’t always stem from deeper veins. They might result from skin injury, sun damage, or aging. These might respond to a surface laser treatment. But leg veins are in a different category. To treat a large varicose vein through the skin, it would require so much heat, that it would damage the skin. Most patients need an endovenous procedure, like the ones our vein doctors prefer for varicose veins in the legs.

If you have damaged blood vessels anywhere in your body, you need a qualified vein doctor. For successful treatment of varicose veins in the legs, this is especially true. Call our award-winning Long Island vein clinics to book a consultation with Dr. Thomas Arnold or Dr. Zalekha Shair. They offer the most successful varicose vein treatments available.