Varicose veins happen when blood pools within the veins because of weak or damaged valves. This can cause veins to appear enlarged and bulging. Fortunately, at Beach Wellness MD, we offer minimally-invasive treatments for varicose veins.

Treatment Options for Varicose Veins

At Beach Wellness MD, we can first suggest lifestyle changes and at-home treatments, which may include regular exercise and weight loss. However, for many people, it’s not possible to reverse varicose veins with these types of lifestyle changes.

Minimally-invasive treatments can lead to an improvement in symptoms, like pain and swelling, as well as in appearance. The options we offer include:

Varithena®

This is an FDA-approved injectable foam. When injected, it collapses damaged veins so that blood flow can be rerouted to healthier veins. Benefits of Varithena include that it doesn’t require invasive surgical vein stripping. This means there’s no need for incisions or general anesthesia, which can carry additional risks. Many thermal procedures require multiple injections in order to numb the site being treated, but Varithena doesn’t. It also is able to treat varicose veins without leaving permanent foreign bodies behind after treatment.

Foam Sclerotherapy

This process uses a custom-formulated foam solution to harden and collapse smaller, branching damaged veins. This causes the foam to seal the veins and blood is rerouted to healthier veins. Over time, the immune system eliminates the sealed blood vessels.

During the Procedure

The “leg makeover” procedures we offer are minimally invasive, but can be as effective as vein surgeries. Most treatments only take about 15 minutes and most people describe little to no discomfort.

Varithena® Procedure

The procedure begins with numbing the injection site. No other anesthesia is needed. Varithena® often requires only one or two injections for treatment to administer the foam in each affected vein. The injectable fills the targeted section of the vein, treating the vein wall and causing the damaged vein to collapse. The same process is followed for any other veins that need treatment.

Foam Sclerotherapy Procedure

For the foam sclerotherapy procedure, the veins to be treated are first identified. The needle is sometimes guided by ultrasound, depending on the size of the veins being targeted. For small veins that are close to the surface, ultrasound is usually not necessary. The solution causes the damaged veins to immediately shrink.

While allergic reactions to these minimally-invasive injectables are rare, we may observe you for a short period of time after the procedure to ensure there’s no reaction.

Right After the Procedure

After the procedure, you’ll be able to go, wearing compression stockings.

These treatments have minimal downtime, and in fact, most people return to daily activities right after the procedure. There may be some tenderness or bruising in the area where the veins were treated, but for most patients, this is very mild. Pain medication is not needed, but if the tenderness is bothersome, taking over-the-counter pain relievers, like acetaminophen or ibuprofen can help.

Even though you can usually return to regular activities immediately, we recommend avoiding excessive physical activity for the first 48 hours after the procedure. You should also avoid warm baths, hot tubs, for 48 hours after the procedure.

After Varicose Vein Treatment

For the first two days after the procedure, you should wear a compression stocking or wrap over the treated area and avoid physical activity more strenuous than walking. However, try to avoid long periods of inactivity or remaining sedentary. Walking is a great mild to moderate exercise that keeps your blood flow going but is gentle enough for your healing vascular system. We will also advise you to avoid long-distance air travel in the first week. You may begin to notice results, as symptoms lessen and visible varicose veins diminish!

One Month After Treatment

A month after your varicose vein treatment, your full results should be visible and there will be no bruising from the procedure.

By now, the body will have gradually broken down the collapsed veins and absorbed them, with blood flow rerouted to healthy veins, leaving you with smoother legs and improved circulation.

Some veins require more than one treatment and some people have extensive varicose veins. If this is the case, you should wait at least four weeks in between treatments, and this would be the time to come for a follow-up procedure to address remaining issues.

Schedule a Consultation

Ali Golshan, MD, is a leading vascular expert who specializes in nonsurgical vein treatments. He provides outstanding, personalized care to people of all ages and backgrounds at Beach Wellness MD, located in the Beverly Hills area of Los Angeles. Dr. Golshan is a trusted expert in treating varicose veins and other vascular conditions.

To schedule a consultation with Dr. Golshan to talk about your options for varicose vein treatment, call Beach Wellness MD at 310-620-1851 or request an appointment.

ABOUT DR. ALI GOLSHAN

Ali Golshan, MD, is a double board-certified leading vascular expert who specializes in in-office, minimally-invasive interventional radiology treatments at Beach Wellness MD. Dr. Golshan devotes personalized attention to each patient to develop an individualized treatment plan.

Dr. Golshan graduated summa cum laude as valedictorian from the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA) with a Bachelor of Science in molecular biology. He then earned a Master of Business Administration from the UCLA Anderson School of Management and a Doctorate of Medicine from the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine. Dr. Golshan completed a residency in radiology at UCLA and a fellowship in interventional radiology at the prestigious Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.