What is varicose veins?
Are there types?
What are the symptoms?
Is it possible to prevent its formation?
TREATMENT OF VARICOSE VEINS
What should the patient pay attention to after the procedure?
Leg varicose veins is a vein disease. It is quite common in the society. One in every five or six people has varicose veins. Varicose veins are more common in the following peopl
- People with varicose veins in their family (genetic factor)
- In women
- Those who have given birth (especially those who have given 2 or more births)
- Overweight people (especially women)
- It is more common in people who stand for a long time or sit for a long time due to their work.
It is more common in people who stand for a long time due to their job (such as teachers) or sit for a long time.
Although varicose veins are perceived as a cosmetic problem by most people, it may impair the quality of life by causing complaints such as pain, fatigue, burning, cramps, swelling in the ankle. Advanced varicose veins may clot, bleed or cause wounds on the ankle that do not heal spontaneously.
There are 6 types of varicose veins in plain language. The formation of capillaries in the leg is called 1st degree varicose veins. It does not cause a health problem. When these veins expand a little more and turn blue in colour, we are now talking about a 2nd degree varicose veins. The patient has symptoms such as leg pain, swelling, inability to stand for a long time and restless leg syndrome. For 1st and 2nd degree varicose veins, we recommend foam treatment. In 3rd degree varicose veins, swelling in the feet and legs becomes more pronounced and disturbing. The patient starts to have difficulty even when wearing shoes. At grade 4, a colour change from red to brown on the inside of the ankle begins. At grade 5, a wound forms on the inside of the ankle. At the 6th degree, this wound can no longer be closed. From the 3rd degree onwards, we apply treatment with laser, radiofrequency or endovenous gluing (glue) method.
Symptoms of varicose veins
Pain: It is the most common complaint. It usually causes pain below the knees, affecting the whole leg. If the pain is at a single point, it is less likely to be due to varicose veins. It usually decreases with exercises that exercise leg muscles such as walking, raising the foot or wearing compression stockings.
Pain in varicose veins: Varicose veins can sometimes cause pain. Especially in women, these veins can be significantly painful in the premenstrual period or during menstruation.
Foot swelling: Especially in the ankle area. There is not much swelling above the knee. There is no swelling at a single point. A general swelling occurs in the foot.
Fatigue:Especially when standing for a very long time, fatigue occurs more pronounced than normal people.
Feeling of heaviness in the feet: Some people have a feeling as if a weight is attached to the feet.
Burning or warmth sensation: It is also evident below the knee. Since the veins become more prominent in hot weather, burning sensation is more common in summer. Washing the feet with cold water relieves it.
Cramp in the legs: It occurs especially at night, when lying down.
Itching: It occurs only in areas with varicose veins.
Numbness: Especially in the toes.
Restless legs: It is very rare in patients with varicose veins. You can find more detailed information on this subject on our restless legs page.
Does every pain, fatigue or burning sensation in the legs belong to varicose veins? Of course not. There are several ways to understand whether the above complaints belong to varicose veins.
Complaints due to varicose veins:
- Less in the morning and more later in the day.
- The complaints are usually evident in the leg below the knee.
- There is a need to raise the legs in the evening.
- Raising the leg relieves the feet
- Complaints are also reduced by wearing compression stockings.
- It is more pronounced in hot weather and less in cold weather.
- It decreases with walking and increases with prolonged standing or sitting (inactivity).
Young people, especially young women, may have these complaints even if varicose veins are not visible externally. A colour (Doppler) ultrasound examination of the legs will reveal the presence of a vein problem in the legs.
It is not possible to prevent varicose veins for sure; however, it may be possible to slow down the progression of varicose veins with some precautions we can take in our lives.
The methods that can delay the formation and development of varicose veins and prevent complaints such as swelling, pain, burning, fatigue and cramps in the feet are as follows:
1. Exercise. Any kind of leg exercise is the most beneficial activity for varicose veins. The easiest and most beautiful of these is to walk a lot. There is no definite time limit for daily walking, but walking for 30-60 minutes will be very useful. All sports that exercise leg muscles such as swimming, running, cycling, tennis are beneficial.
2. Avoid standing and sitting for long periods of time. If we have to stand for a long time at work or at home, it will be very useful to add short walks from time to time; If we have a profession where we have to sit for a long time, it will be very useful to get used to exercises that will mobilise the ankle where we sit.
3. If, despite these, swelling in the feet or varicose veins develop, raise your foot and leg every day to rise above the level of the heart. A period of 20-30 minutes will be sufficient.
4. Sitting cross-legged for long periods of time or wearing high heels frequently is not recommended as it may interfere with the functioning of the leg muscles or make it more difficult for the venous blood to flow to the heart. However, they do not have to be banned altogether.
5. Excess weight accelerates the formation and development of leg varicose veins, especially in women. Weight gain should be avoided.
6. The majority of varicose veins in women occur immediately after pregnancy or childbirth. It will be useful to avoid immobility, especially after pregnancy and childbirth, and to use compression stockings if necessary.
7. Hot water and hot air usually increase the complaints of varicose veins, but we do not know to what extent they contribute to the progression of varicose veins. For this reason, sauna, hot spas may increase complaints in patients with varicose veins. But if it is done infrequently, it will not cause a problem. Cold water usually relaxes the person and reduces complaints.
All kinds of sports that will mobilise the leg muscles are useful in preventing varicose veins or reducing the problems it causes.
Methods used in the treatment of varicose veins (treatment of large veins)
1) Classical surgery (striping)
2) Treatment with laser
3) Radiofrequency therapy ( RF )
4) Varicose veins treatment with steam
5) Treatment with endovenous gluing (gum) method
Methods used in the treatment of capillary and medium-sized varicose veins
1) Sclerotherapy
2) Foam sclerotherapy
3) Closure of capillary varicose veins with RF (radiofrequency energy)
4) Laser removal of capillary varicose veins
Varicose vein treatment with laser, varicose vein treatment with radiofrequency (RF) or varicose vein treatment with steam methods are basically very similar. All treatment steps are almost the same. Only one uses laser energy, one uses radiofrequency energy and the other uses steam heat to close or cancel the vein from the inside. Apart from these, varicose vein treatment has been performed with endovenous bonding method for the last few years.
None of the treatments with laser, RF, steam and endovenous bonding methods require general anaesthesia. However, in laser, steam and RF treatments, a general anaesthesia is required for the whole leg. In the endovenous bonding method, it is sufficient to anaesthetise only the entry site of the catheter.
After preparation of the leg, the vein with valve insufficiency (saphenous vein) is entered with a fine needle using ultrasound guidance.
- A one millimetre thick radiofrequency catheter is inserted into the vein through this access route.
- Since the vein can be entered with ultrasound guidance, there is no need for an incision in the skin or open surgery. The RF/laser catheter is inserted along the long vein to the highest level of insufficiency.
- On the front side of the leg (greater saphenous vein) this is usually up to the groin, on the back side (lesser saphenous vein) it is usually up to the crease behind the knee.
- Very fine needles are inserted around the vein and a pool of water is created using so-called tumescent anaesthesia. The aim of this method is to narrow the vein, increase the effectiveness of the radiofrequency and prevent the surrounding tissues from being damaged by heat. When tumescent anaesthesia is performed perfectly, almost no pain is felt during the procedure.
- The problematic vein is then treated with the RF/laser method starting from the top downwards. The treatment is the closure or cancellation of that vein.
- After radiofrequency / laser treatment, sclerotherapy or foam treatment can be applied to varicose veins that are visible externally. Thus, visible varicose veins heal faster.
- This treatment does not require general anaesthesia (narcosis) and hospitalisation is not required.
- The person comes to the treatment on foot and leaves the hospital on foot immediately after the treatment.
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What is the glue method?
How is it applied?
What is the procedure time?
Is there any damage to the cancelled vein?
Which varicose veins can be applied?
What are the advantages and disadvantages compared to other methods?
Do varicose veins recur despite the procedure?
Varicose vein treatment with adhesive is a relatively new treatment. This substance is a special adhesive with medical use. It has been used in many vein treatments for years. It has been used in the treatment of varicose veins for about 5 years. It is very easy and comfortable to use. The procedure is completely similar to "non-surgical laser and radiofrequency treatment". Laser, radiofrequency, steam or adhesive methods are very similar to each other in the treatment of varicose veins. The procedure is not an operation and you can return home immediately after the procedure.
I should mention here that this adhesive substance, called "Cyanoacrylate" in medicine, is completely safe to use inside the body. For many years, this substance has been used in many different treatments in the medical field in a healthy and successful way. The substance has no side effects on the human body.
Glue or adhesive treatment can be applied to all people with varicose veins and main vein valve insufficiency. No anaesthesia is used during the application, there are no incisions or stitches, and the patient can continue his/her daily life as he/she wishes.
The most important advantage of this application compared to other non-surgical treatment types (laser, RF and steam treatment) is that there is no staining, bruising, ecchymosis in that area after the application and it does not leave any scars behind. It is defined as a very comfortable and convenient method for the patient compared to the surgical methods that require anaesthesia, require rest for at least 2-3 weeks afterwards, reduce the quality of life of the person, leave a stitch scar after the removal of the vein with an incision.
In some parts of the leg (below the knee), the heat method can also affect the nerve next to the main vein that forms varicose veins and damage it. There may be temporary numbness, tingling and regional numbness in the leg. These are usually temporary complaints, but some patients may be disturbed for a short time. In addition, bandages or compression stockings, which are a routine application after varicose vein treatment with other methods, may not be required in patients treated with adhesive or used for a shorter period of time.Laser and radiofrequency treatment may cause mild pain for a few days after the procedure. This does not bother patients, but this pain is felt a little more in patients who want treatment at an advanced age. Adhesive treatment may be more appropriate in this patient group. The procedure time is shorter than classical surgeries and other non-surgical (laser, RF and steam treatment) treatment methods, the application is performed in a short time such as 10 - 15 minutes. The recovery rate is also faster than other methods.
When we treat the source vein that causes varicose veins with methods such as intravenous laser, RF or glue, the vein may not close in 5% of people.
You should investigate newly developed non-surgical methods such as adhesive - glue, sclerotherapy, foam and have your varicose veins treated with these methods. Varicose vein treatment is no longer scary, difficult and troublesome...
