Is Varicose Vein Surgery Painful?
Varicose veins if left untreated can be a major source of discomfort. They will swell when you stand for long and in extreme cases burst to ulcers that can be painful. Seeking treatment in as fast as possible upon noticing them is the only relief option. Among the many treatment options, you can get his surgery.
The veins that mostly become varicose are the superficial veins that lie right below the skin. They run from the feet to the thighs, but this does not restrict varicose vein condition to the legs only. However, a majority of the people who suffer from varicose veins have them on the feet. Irrespective of that, the treatment processes involved are quite the same. If the condition is in areas that are sensitive, an alternative treatment method other than surgery can be used.
Varicose Vein Surgery Made Easy
A majority of the people get nervous when they hear of surgery and think that they will be hanging on the verge of life and death during the operation. The good news is that varicose vein surgery does not involve such pegging; it’s a procedure that involves minimum ablation. General anesthesia is used to sedate the patient.
We shall look at the most common varicose vein that appears in the legs. The doctor will make two small cuts along the line where the varicose veins appear. The cuts are mostly made at the groin and near the ankle. The surgeon will then find the vein with the problem and close it to prevent blood flow. Then the doctor will cut the vein and stitch it at the top so that there is a complete cut off blood flow. This process is called ligation and is basically not painful.
After this stitching, another wired device with the aid of a catheter is now inserted at the upper end of the cut vein and driven in the vein to emerge at the bottom cut made near the ankle. The wire is then pulled out through the lower cut in a process called stripping. The process is meant to remove the affected vein. Alternatively, the affected vein might be heated using radio waves or laser to collapse and close it instead of removing it. Depending on the technology in place where you visit, the vein can be removed or closed while still inside by heating.
The insertion of the wire is done through ultrasound guidance to avoid damaging the unaffected veins or other tissues in the body. With ultrasound guidance, there is minimal risk of nerve damage and the process is a walk-in walk-out procedure. You don’t need special walking devices from the hospital nor will you appear scarred everywhere along the damaged vein. Remember varicose vein treatment is a cosmetic procedure and thus it can’t go against its cores.
The cuts are then stitched to close the wounds. The process is just the same for any other varicose vein appearing on any other part of the body. The unique feature of varicose vein surgery is that the veins are removed from the body. Again the process is not painful but general anesthesia is required to reduce the discomfort associated with the surgery.
The striped area might require bandaging or use of a compression stocking depending on the severity of the removed vein. The circulation of the blood in the leg is not affected by the removal of the superficial vein because the ones that play the major role in blood circulation lie deeper in the leg muscles.
After the surgery heavy or strenuous work should be avoided for about 1 to 2 weeks. This will give the muscles time to close together and heal properly to make you healthy and fit again.
No worry with varicose vein surgery
As we have noted from the procedure above, the surgical removal of the affected veins which is also called micro phlebectomy is not a painful process. In order for the process to be effective, even the feeder veins that might be affected or might end up bulging after the removal of the major vein should be addressed. Stripping and ligation are used for large veins while ablation or other closure procedures can be used for small veins. In any case, visiting a qualified and experienced surgeon is the only safe way around the treatment.
