| LASER
TREATMENT OF LEG VEINS
While
the success of injection therapy for varicose and spider veins has
been proven over many years, there has always been a desire by patients
and by the doctors at the Schulman Vein Center to have a laser that
could reliably treat leg veins. In the past the lasers designed
to treat varicose veins have been ineffective and have often resulted
in burning and scarring in the areas treated. Fortunately for our
patients, we have not used these older lasers.
Recently
the FDA approved a new and different type of laser that is finally
a real advance in the treatment of certain leg veins. This new laser
treatment is called Endo-Venous Laser Therapy (EVLT) and we are
proud to have it available at all our offices. We have always wanted
to offer a laser treatment option, but until these recent developments,
lasers in our field have really been marketing gimmicks and not
instruments which would reliably benefit patients. Our position
has always been that sclerotherapy is so simple and so successful
that we would only offer lasers when they were truly proven to be
of value. A medical saying we like is “ don’t be the
first to embrace new technology, but also don’t be the last.”
The
new laser is most effective in those patients with the largest veins
and in whom the valves within the veins are not working properly.
A harmless, painless, non-invasive and radiation-free ultrasound
examination, which actually looks inside the leg and gives us pictures
of the veins, is done to determine if a patient is a candidate for
laser treatment (the ultrasound is the same examination routinely
done on all pregnant women). The procedure itself (Endo-Venous Laser
Therapy or EVLT) is done in the office without the need for general
anesthesia. A sterile laser fiber is inserted into the vein in the
upper calf or lower thigh through a minute incision, and the position
of the laser is monitored by ultrasound. When the laser is determined
to be in the correct position, laser energy is released which causes
the vein to collapse and shut down. Although the laser is directed
at the root source of the vein problem, follow-up injections may
be needed to complete the treatment. Shortly after completion of
the procedure, patients leave the office on their own and without
difficulty.
We
believe that laser therapy will be of real benefit for those patients
who meet the criteria for its use. In some patients the laser may
be appropriate for one leg and not the other. In summary, we feel
that laser therapy with the Endo-Venous Laser is a great advance
in leg vein therapy for many patients, since we are now able to
treat vein problems at their source in order to obtain a more permanent
result.
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