Can Diseased Veins Return After Endovenous Radiofrequency Ablation?

An estimated 35% of Americans have varicose veins, and many seek medical treatment to ease the discomfort these diseased veins cause.

At Chinatown Cardiology, with four New York City locations, we offer minimally invasive endovenous radiofrequency ablation to eliminate varicose veins so you can find lasting relief from pain, cramping, and other symptoms that interfere with your mobility.

If you’re considering endovenous radiofrequency ablation, you might wonder how effective treatment is and if your varicose veins come back. Here, our experienced cardiologists provide more insight into the treatment and what you can expect from your results.

Why you have varicose veins

Your veins are the vessels that bring blood back to your heart from other areas of your body. The blood in your legs has to work against gravity to return to your heart, which can put additional pressure on your leg veins and increase your risk of varicose veins.

Varicose veins develop when poor blood circulation in your legs and faulty valves in your veins allow blood to pool inside the vein. This pooling causes the vein to enlarge and bulge out under the surface of your skin.

Damaged veins appear purple or blue and can cause symptoms like:

• Leg pain
• Cramping
• Itching
• Burning
• Swelling
• Heaviness
• Skin discoloration

You may also develop phlebitis, when a clot develops in the damaged vein. While clots in surface veins aren’t dangerous like those in the deep leg veins, they can still be painful.

In addition to the discomfort varicose veins cause, many people seek treatment because they feel self-conscious about the appearance of the bulging, twisted veins.

How endovenous ablation works

Endovenous ablation is a minimally invasive treatment to close off damaged veins, which ultimately collapse. Blood naturally reroutes to nearby healthy veins to improve circulation in the treated leg.

During your procedure, your cardiovascular specialist inserts a thin catheter into a damaged vein. The catheter delivers radiofrequency energy that heats the vein, seals it off, and eventually causes its collapse. The team can treat multiple veins during the same procedure.

After your endovenous ablation, we wrap a bandage around your leg to protect the incision and promote blood circulation. We also schedule a follow-up visit about a week after your treatment, using ultrasound imaging to evaluate your results.

Expectations for your results

Ablation procedures are less invasive than traditional vein removal surgery, so you can expect to heal faster and with less risk of pain, scarring, and other complications.

Because Venefit endovenous ablation treats the root cause of twisted, painful veins, their chances of recurrence after treatment are low.

However, you should continue to exercise daily, eat a healthy diet, and maintain a healthy weight to prevent new varicose veins from forming. If you smoke, find a smoking cessation program that helps you quit for good to protect your overall cardiovascular health.

We can also recommend other strategies to minimize your risk of further vein damage, including using compression socks when standing or sitting for an extended time.

Call the Chinatown Cardiology office near you today to schedule a varicose vein evaluation, or request an appointment online.