Common Questions About Varicose Vein Treatments

At Upper East Side Cardiology, our team, led by Dr. Satjit Bhusri, has created a Vein Institute that specializes in problematic veins, including varicose veins and spider veins. Through our Vein Institute, we’ve helped scores of patients find relief from varicose veins by offering the most cutting-edge treatments available.

Of course, we understand that you might have some questions about varicose vein treatments, and our goal is to answer some of them here.

Do varicose vein treatments affect blood flow

One of the first questions we’re often asked about our varicose vein treatments is, “Won’t this impact the flow of blood in my legs?” The short answer to this question is no.

The longer explanation is that varicose veins only affect the superficial veins in your legs, which are located in your fatty tissues. The deep veins in your legs are the ones that do the heavy lifting in terms of circulation and are responsible for 90% or more of the blood flow toward your heart.

When we eliminate a varicose vein, rest assured that the small amount of blood that it was carrying reroutes itself through healthier vessels.

Do varicose vein treatments hurt?

With each of our minimally invasive varicose vein treatments, we supply local anesthetics that should keep you perfectly comfortable during your treatment. You may feel some discomfort in the treatment areas afterward, but ice and over-the-counter medications are often enough to provide relief for this short-lived side effect.

Is there any downtime after my varicose vein treatments?

We perform varicose vein treatments on an outpatient basis. There’s no downtime afterward.

Will there be scarring?

As we mentioned, our varicose vein treatments are minimally invasive, and we access the problematic veins using only a needle or catheter. As a result, you shouldn’t experience any scarring.

Do I need to wear compression stockings?

We do recommend that you wear compression stockings for a few weeks after your varicose vein treatments. The deep veins in your legs rely on surrounding muscles to help push your blood back to your heart, but your superficial veins don’t have this extra support.

The compression stockings help the valves in your superficial veins to keep the blood flowing in the right direction.

Will varicose veins reappear?

Our treatments are highly effective in eliminating existing varicose veins, but they won’t prevent new ones from developing down the road. To help prevent new varicose veins from forming, you may want to make compression stockings a bigger part of your everyday wardrobe, which is easy enough during the colder months here in the East.

Do I need multiple treatments?

The answer to this question depends upon the extent of your varicose veins. If it’s just a single, small vein, one treatment might do the trick. If you have a web of varicose veins, it’s likely that you will need a series of treatments. 

Which varicose vein treatment is best?

At our Vein Institute, we offer three different varicose vein treatments, including:

• ClosureFast™
• VenaSeal™ Closure System
• Varithena®

To determine which treatment is right for you, you should come in for an examination and evaluation, at which point we can recommend one of these three excellent options.

If we haven’t answered all of your questions about our treatments for varicose veins, please contact our New York City office on the Upper East Side of Manhattan to set up a consultation.