What can be done

All kinds of varicose veins can be readily treated with satisfactory results.

Scar free, painless, short surgical interventions are precise and definitive methods of treatment for gross bulging varicose veins, with excellent results
Reticular or threadlike red or blue-red small veins are best treated by sclerotherapy and/or different forms of light energy (Laser or Photoderm)

New Approach Varicose veins are meticulously marked with a indelible pen after the patient has been standing for 10 minutes. Diseased veins are removed through 1mm incisions, with utmost care paid to skin and subcutaneous tissues. Protection of healthy vascular structures is the most important aspect of this approach. No stitches are necessary, and the patient can return to his or her home the same day. Patients may resume working in two to three days.
Classical varicose vein surgery:
(I have stopped using this technique in 1997) In this technique, the Greater Saphenous Vein is removed totally using a wire introduced into the vein at the ankle and pulled through an incision at the groin. Additional incisions of 2-4 cm are made over the areas with varicose packets, removing the residual varicose veins.
Pitfalls of this operation are high rates of complications, recurrences, prolonged hospital stay and recovery time, and unsightly scars.

Sclerotherapy

This technique is most successfully employed in small varicose veins usually less than 1 mm in diameter. A very thin needle (15/1000 in) is introduced into the vein and minute amounts of sclerosing agents are injected. The leg is bandaged with elastic bandages for 24 hrs. Daily activities are not affected by this procedure.

Treatment modalities using light (Laser, Photoderm)

This is also a technique for very thin veins. Light skin tones are a prerequisite for this kind of treatment, since the condensed light pulse used by this technique is absorbed by darker-colored vascular structures. Intense heat of very short duration ( 0.003 sec.) produced by the light pulse causes degeneration in vascular structures. Treated veins are slowly resorbed over a period of 2-12 weeks.