Your Dedicated Varicose Veins Clinicians in Melbourne

What Are Varicose Veins?

Varicose veins are twisted, enlarged and swollen blood vessels that appear to bulge just underneath your skin’s surface. These blue or purple bulging veins most commonly appear on your legs, feet and ankles. Veins are blood vessels that play an essential role in our circulatory system, responsible for taking oxygen-depleted blood back to your heart for reoxygenation. When certain veins stop working or become damaged, instead of flowing back up to your heart, blood pools in the vein, causing them to stretch and bulge.

Varicose veins are distinct from spider veins, which are smaller red and purple lines that appear beneath the surface of the skin and tend to appear on other areas of the body, such as your arms and face. While varicose veins can be unsightly and uncomfortable, they are typically not a dangerous medical condition. In some cases, they can cause pain and discomfort, while in rarer cases, they can lead to more serious health issues. Many people who opt to treat their varicose veins do so for cosmetic reasons.

What are the Main Symptoms of Varicose Veins?

The first way to differentiate between varicose veins and other conditions such as spider veins and deep vein thrombosis is to understand common varicose vein symptoms, which may include:

• The appearance of bulging blue or dark purple-coloured veins
• Prominent veins that are twisted, knotty or swollen in appearance
• Chronic achy legs, “heavy legs” or undefined soreness in legs
• Swelling, burning sensations, throbbing and/or muscle cramping
• Pain that increases following extended periods sitting or standing
• Redness, discolouration and/or itching around prominent veins
• Localised skin hardening or skin ulcers (which may also be a sign of more serious vascular disease)

Symptoms can vary from patient to patient and can often be worse at the end of the day or after long periods of sitting or standing in one place. Symptoms can also escalate as you move through different varicose vein stages.

Varicose Vein Stages

The three stages of varicose veins include the:

• Early Stage: characterised by visible veins with little to no other symptoms
• Moderate Stage: symptoms intensify, and complications can arise
• Advanced Stage: symptoms increase in severity with notable skin changes and heightened health risks

No matter which of the stages of varicose veins you’re experiencing, we’ll determine an appropriate treatment course to alleviate symptoms and manage any health risks.

What Causes Varicose Veins?

Varicose veins are more common as you grow older and are more likely to affect women and individuals assigned female at birth (AFAB). Other common risk factors include:

• Your family has a history of varicose veins
• An occupation requires that you stand for extended periods of time
• Sedentary lifestyle, including sitting for long periods while at work
• Excess weight puts additional pressure on the legs and circulatory system
• Smoking and poor nutrition
• Natural ageing, which weakens veins and causes a loss of skin elasticity
• Hormonal changes such as menopause
• Pregnancy increases blood volume, reduces blood flow from the legs, and add physical strain to the body

Any superficial veins throughout the body can become varicose veins, however, the condition most commonly affects the legs. This is because there is increased pressure on veins in the lower half of your body and muscles need to work harder to pump blood back up to your heart.

Varicose Veins Treatment at Vein Care Melbourne

Laser therapy and minimally invasive injections are just some of the options we offer here at Vein Care. These procedures include:

• Sclerotherapy and Microsclerotherapy: These treatments involve using a micro-needle to inject a special solution into the affected vein. This collapses the vein wall, allowing it to be cleansed and sealed before being naturally absorbed into your body. Sclerotherapy is typically used for varicose veins, whist microsclerotherapy is indicated for spider veins.
• Ultrasound-Guided Sclerotherapy: When problem veins aren’t as prominent or there are several within a small area, ultrasound-guided sclerotherapy (UGS) ensures accuracy when injecting a special solution to collapse and dissolve the veins.
• Endovenous Laser Therapy: This laser procedure for varicose veins involves heating affected veins using advanced laser technology. This causes problem veins to shrink and close, forcing blood to flow through other nearby veins instead. This procedure is well suited to people with larger varicose veins.
• Cyanoacrylate Vein Glue: Using ultrasound guidance, this newer treatment for varicose veins involves injecting a special type of glue into the problem veins, sealing them off and preventing the abnormal buildup of blood.
• Ambulatory Phlebectomy: Ideal for targeting more severe, visibly bulging varicose veins, this procedure removes problem veins by pulling them out through tiny incisions with a special hook. These incisions are small enough that stitches aren’t necessary.

These treatments are all quick and relatively painless, taking anywhere from 30 minutes to 1.5 hours. These walk in, walk out procedures generally have minimal side effects so, in most cases, you can return to regular activities on the same day. Depending on the treatment, you might experience some mild discomfort and tenderness. Full results are visible within 2 to 6 weeks.

Varicose Veins Prevention

If you have a higher risk of developing varicose veins due to family history, advanced age, pregnancy, weight or other factors, there are a few steps you can take to prevent their development. This includes:

• Wear compression stockings to improve circulation
• Reduce the risk of swelling with a low-salt diet (prevents water retention)
• Stay active and avoid prolonged periods of standing and sitting
• Elevate your legs above your hips while sitting to improve blood flow
• Reduce pressure to veins in your lower body by managing body weight
• Improve nutrition through diet and supplements to boost circulation
• Drink plenty of water to ensure your blood is thinner and flows better
• Avoid smoking, which can cause vascular hardening and narrowing
• Limit how often you wear clothes that are tight around the waist or high heeled shoes, which decrease blood flow in your legs

By remaining conscious of the risk factors and mitigating them where you can, you can take better care of your circulatory system and reduce the risk or severity of varicose veins. While varicose veins are usually not a serious medical issue, it’s always a good idea to monitor changes in your veins, especially if varicose veins are accompanied by symptoms like pain, aching and itching.

How are Varicose Veins Diagnosed?

To diagnose varicose veins, your clinician will evaluate your symptoms and assess the physical appearance of the problem veins. Depending on the case, this could involve a simple physical examination and a conversation about your medical history. Other times, we may use additional imaging tests such as ultrasounds. This helps us check blood flow and the structure of your veins.

We’ll first rule out any other vascular diseases or health conditions which may be contributing to your symptoms. The next step then involves designing an appropriate treatment plan for you. This will be based on your personal preferences, your budget and the varicose vein removal cost, as well as the location, structure, severity and number of varicose veins you want us to treat.

What are the Treatment Options?

Our range of non-surgical procedures are ideal for treating most cases of varicose veins. Whether we recommend sclerotherapy or a laser procedure for varicose veins, like Endovenous Laser Treatment (EVLT), will come down to factors like your:

• Age, medical history and overall health
• Symptoms and extent of the condition
• Expectations around varicose vein removal cost
• Tolerance for particular procedures and medicines
• Expectations for treatment results
• Individual preferences or opinions

In some cases, the recommended treatment may be a more traditional surgical procedure. Traditional surgical stripping, for example, involves removing the entire affected vein from the leg, while phlebectomy is the removal of affected branches of a vein.

Varicose Vein Consultation

Since every patient has different requirements, an initial private consultation is key to determining the best treatment. Our specialists will look at the symptoms and potential causes of your varicose veins to help form the most effective treatment plan. Treatment plans may consist of in-office procedures as well as recommended lifestyle changes.

Consultation might involve talking about lifestyle factors such as work, diet and how active you are, as well as your medical history and any other relevant information that comes up. From there, your vein care specialist will take you through key considerations and the suitability of each treatment option.

Varicose Vein Treatment Process

The exact process of laser therapy and minimally invasive injections varies. For most of our procedures, where we inject a solution into the affected veins, the process looks like this:

1. An ultrasound or sonogram is used to accurately map the treatment area.
2. A detergent solution (or glue) is precisely injected into the varicose vein.
3. The vein wall collapses or seals.
4. Depending on the treatment one to four injections may be required.
5. Following the injection, collapsed veins are then naturally absorbed by the body along with any solution and glue. The entire treatment process takes less than an hour.

Mild tenderness and discolouration may occur at the treatment site. This will subside quickly, lasting no more than a few days. Your vein doctor will provide you with post-procedure care tips and schedule a follow up appointment. Multiple treatments may be necessary to achieve best results.

Post Procedure Care Tips

After receiving varicose vein treatment, patients are typically able to return to normal activities on the same day, with certain limitations:

1. You should avoid any strenuous exercise for at least 3 days following treatment.
2. Depending on the treatment, you may be asked to wear compression stockings for one to three weeks after treatment.
3. In some cases, we may recommend long-term use of compression stockings to help reduce recurrence or future onset of vein issues.