Varicose Veins

All procedures are undertaken as ambulatory procedures (walk-in walk-out). General anaesthesia and sedation have never been necessary. Patients leave the clinic with their legs dressed and bandaged, or sometimes in graduated compression stockings (depending on the procedures performed). If bandaged, they are invited to re-attend the next day for a wound check and scan, and then placed in stockings.

All procedures are carried out under local anaesthesia. This guarantees a virtually painless experience, and pain relief for the immediate post-procedural phase. Simple proprietary analgesics may be required afterwards whilst at home. Though the local anaesthetic at the access site may be well below the knee, the target veins may be in the groin, indicating that there is no pain sensation once the endovenous devices are within the vein itself.

Both endovenous laser ablation and radio frequency ablation are available to achieve endoluminal thermal closure of reverse-flowing venous trunks which lead to varicose veins.

Currently there are two such procedures, both available at the Benville Vein Practice: Mechano-chemical ablation (MOCA) and Endoluminal Bio-Adhesive Closure (VenaSeal). Both require just one single local anaesthetic jab at the access puncture site only, and are otherwise (virtually) painless.

This refers to the removal of visible varicose veins through tiny 1mm incisions under local anaesthesia. This is an important step to achieve the best cosmetic effect possible, though is not necessary in all cases. The tiny incisions heal rapidly and become invisible.

Depending on the type of veins to be treated, we use either 0.5% polidocanol or 0.2% fibrovein to inject the veins using microscopes or loupe lenses accurately and painlessly. Pads are placed over the injection sites, and the leg is either bandaged or placed in a graduated compression stocking.