Question:
I am a mid-30's male who was heavy in my youth and seem to take after my mother's family, who suffer from varicose veins. While I am now in shape and have been for quite some time, I have a number of varicose veins on the side of one calf that are bothering me more and more as time goes by. As I have hair on my legs, they are someone hidden to others, but I see them and they drive me nuts. Lately, after workouts I have found my leg aches a bit and it is always the one with the varicose veins. They are unsightly and I consider myself too young for them. I may be crazy, but I swear they are getting worse and more noticable also. I went to see a doctor about them last year. He was a bit rushed, but he looked over my leg and showed me a place above my knee where he says the vein "broke down" and the problem originates. He then explained that that bumb on the side of my knee (which I never noticed) is the start of the problem lower down. He then said he would strip my varicose veins out the next day (a bit of a rush!) and then I would be out of work for 2-3 weeks and off my feet. He then said he was certain my insurance would cover 100% of the costs (he later billed them $300 for a 10 minute exam!) Well, I had already read negative things about vein stripping so I was hoping he had another solution. I also can not easily miss 2-3 weeks of work even though I have a very good job. I did not schedule the procedure as I really wanted to find a better solution. I then read about a lazer procedure who's name escapes me where a small "tube" is lead down the vein and then drawn back as a lazer seals the vein off and that is it. You return to regular activity right away. Anyone know more about this procedure? I would be interested, but would like my insurance to pay for it. Heck, one would think insurance would pay for something that kept me at work more than something that kept me in bed for weeks.

Answer: You're thinking of VNUS. It works fine for ablating the greater saphenous vein, but it doesn't occlude the bulb, so there is often recurrence of varicose veins in the groin area. Furthermore, VNUS does nothing for the actual varicose veins, only the greater saphenous, so those varicose veins on the leg still need to be removed surgically, or by TriVex Powered phlebectomy. VNUS is not a very good solution to varicose veins overall, it's just a slightly simpler method of stripping the greater saphenous vein. If your surgeon wanted to operate on you the next day, it means that he did not evaluate your greater saphenous system for reflux or competency. It could be a huge mistake to strip or VNUS your greater saphenous. I'd definitely look up a surgeon that does VNUS or TriVex, not because those procedures are superior, but because surgeons that do them are likely to know more about varicose veins in general.