MedEsthetics Magazine published a stimulating article “Vanishing Vessels: Protocols for Treating Visible Veins in the Legs, Face and Chest.” Quotes from specialists David M. Duffy, MD, from California, Neil Sadick, MD, from New York and Filiberto Rodriguez, MD, from McAllen gave noteworthy accounts of the way they approach vein treatment.
Filiberto Rodriguez, MD, FACS, treats varicose leg veins with a combination of endovenous ablation—specifically the 1470nm laser from Total Vein Systems-and micro-phlebectomy. “The endovenous laser is a very well-tolerated procedure and it’s highly reproducible. The higher wavelengths (such as the 1470nm or the 1320nm CoolTouch) target the water rather than the red blood cells. This procedure results in less bruising and less discomfort, which is why we like it for saphenous vein ablation,” said Rodriguez. “Then for the remaining varicose veins, we prefer the micro-phlebectomy procedure where we do tiny little needle sticks and gently tease out the vein with no staining, minimal bruising, and no scarring.”
Micro-phlebectomy requires about three to four sessions per leg, and Dr. Rodriguez prefers it to sclerotherapy for the larger varicose veins and reticular veins because there is no risk of potentially permanent staining. He points out that by destroying the larger varicose veins with endovenous ablation and phlebectomy first, the remaining spider veins will often begin to dissipate on their own. “A lot of the spider veins will have disappeared by themselves because you’ve treated the real problem; you’ve eliminated the river that’s been feeding them,” said Rodriguez.
Dr. Rodriguez also counsels patients to avoid sun exposure following facial vein treatment and hydrates skin to speed healing. “After the treatment’s completed, we apply a moisturizing mask, and we have the patients wear sun block,” he noted. “For legs, on the other hand, we wrap them in an Ace wrap overnight, and the patient takes removes the wrap the following morning. Then we recommend that patients use compression hose with a minimum of 15mm to 20mm of mercury compression.”
When treating patients who are on their feet for prolonged periods of time, Dr. Rodriguez recommends compression hose ‘almost all the time’ because they have vein disease. “Veins are like weeds—we can treat the veins you have, but that doesn’t mean new ones won’t crop up over the next few years,” Rodriguez added.
For the full article, please follow the link below:
http://medestheticsmag.com/vanishing-vessels
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