Thursday 18 June 2015

Varicose Veins

The Vascular Surgeons and staff at The Varicose Vein Clinic offer individualised treatment for each patients needs.

All our varicose vein treatments are performed on a walk in/walk out basis. We offer up to date, evidence based minimally invasive treatments for varicose veins. The treatment is provided by an experienced team with expertise in venous disease, working alongside the professional and dedicated staff at The Aberdeen Clinic:

2 vascular surgeons with special interest in endovenous vein treatments and experienced sonographers for ultrasound imaging.

The Aberdeen Clinic follows UK national best practice guidelines based on the recently published National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines

You can be confident we offer you the most up to date, individualised treatment for your varicose and thread/spider veins

General Varicose Vein information

Varicose Veins
Veins with poorly or non-functioning valves enlarge and then become varicose veins. They can have a bluish colour and bulge on the leg surface. Symptoms may include heaviness, aching, throbbing, itching and cramps or tiredness in the legs. Some patients may have skin discoloration, inflammation or ulcers on the skin.

How are Varicose Veins treated?
Varicose veins can be treated with stockings, surgery, laser, radiofrequency ablation, injection sclerotherapy or a combination of these treatments depending on the size and distribution of the veins. 

What are thread veins?
Thread veins (‘spider’ or ‘reticular’ veins) are extremely common and are usually left untreated due to constraints on the NHS. Most thread veins cause no symptoms apart from minor aching or throbbing but the cosmetic appearance may be a considerable cause of distress.

What treatments are available for thread veins?
It is important to treat any underlying varicose veins before considering treatment of thread veins. This will be part of the full clinical assessment before deciding on the correct treatment. It should also be noted that no treatment for thread veins can be guaranteed to be 100% effective; the aim is to improve the cosmetic appearance. Thread veins are harmless and do not need treatment. It is very unusual for the veins to cause symptoms and even if there are symptoms in the area of the veins, treatment may not help. Treatment is therefore usually cosmetic.

Thread veins can be treated using laser or injections. As a general rule, laser treatments are better for facial veins and injection works better for leg veins. The sclerosant that we use is called Sodium Tetradecyl Sulphate (STS, ‘Fibrovein’) which has been used for injecting veins since the 1940s.