What are the treatment options for varicose veins in California?

The VenaSeal Closure System is the latest minimally invasive treatment for chronic venous insufficiency, having received FDA approval in 2015. During the VenaSeal procedure, the vein doctor administers local anesthesia and makes a small incision on the skin’s surface. The incision serves as an entry point for a specialized catheter, which is driven into the diseased saphenous vein under ultrasound guidance. Once the catheter is lodged in place, the vein doctor injects a medical-grade adhesive into the diseased vein, thus sealing its walls shut. The diseased vein effectively turns into scar tissue, and the accumulated blood reroutes into healthier leg veins, restoring optimal blood circulation. The problematic vein is eventually absorbed by the body.

​ClariVein, also known as mechanochemical ablation, is one of the most effective minimally invasive treatments for large, twisted, and tortuous varicose veins. During the ClariVein procedure, the vein doctor administers local anesthesia and makes a small incision on the skin’s surface. The incision is an entry point for a specialized catheter with a rotating wire tip, which is inserted into the diseased saphenous vein under ultrasound guidance. Once lodged in place, the vein doctor activates the catheter, and the rotating wire destroys the diseased vein’s walls while delivering a sclerosant medicine to seal it shut. The accumulated blood reroutes into healthier leg veins, and the diseased vein is reabsorbed into the body.

Ambulatory phlebectomy, also known as microsurgery, is one of the most effective minimally invasive treatments for varicose veins. This is a purely cosmetic procedure that can remove superficial varicose veins from the skin’s surface, but it can’t treat underlying chronic venous insufficiency. As such, most vein doctors perform ambulatory phlebectomy after the primary vein treatment or if there’s no underlying chronic venous insufficiency. During the ambulatory phlebectomy procedure, the vein physician administers local anesthesia to ensure comfort. The vein doctor makes small incisions on the skin’s surface to manually extract the unwanted varicose veins. The incision marks gradually heal and fade away from the skin’s surface.

Sclerotherapy is widely considered to be the most effective spider vein treatment. This is generally considered to be a cosmetic treatment because it only removes spider veins without addressing the underlying vein disease. That’s why your vein doctor should offer sclerotherapy after the primary vein treatment or if you don’t have underlying vein disease. During sclerotherapy, the vein doctor carefully injects the sclerosant medicine into the spider veins on your skin. In some cases, the vein doctor may need ultrasound guidance for deeper spider veins. The sclerosant medicine fuses the spider veins’ walls, turning them into hardened scar tissues eventually absorbed by the body. The spider veins gradually fade away from the skin’s surface within three weeks.