All too often, varicose veins get in the way of living your best Florida Lakes life. We love living here because we can be active, enjoying our days and our nights indoors and out. When the pain of varicose veins slows you down or stops you from doing the things you love, you need the right vein specialist in Lakewood Ranch.
You need Florida Lakes Vein Center.
Our non-thermal varicose vein treatments close off the varicose veins, making them disappear without surgery or heat-related treatments. Instead, you get back to the fun with less downtime.
Not sure about the difference between thermal and non-thermal vein treatments? Request a screening, and let our team help you determine the best choice for your venous disease.
Read on for an expert view on why we choose non-thermal treatment whenever possible.
Why Cool Treatments Are a Hot Item
At our vein center, T.C. Lackey II, D.O.—your vein specialist in Lakewood Ranch—performs 2 different treatments to help patients reduce or eliminate varicose veins. These in-house procedures address:
- Bulging, twisted veins on the thighs and calves
- Heaviness in the legs
- Aching or burning sensations
- Itching on the leg surface or deeper
- Muscle cramps
- Restless legs syndrome
- Swelling and/or discoloration
Each non-thermal, minimally invasive vein treatment offers a nearly painless way to address your varicose veins.
Varithena
Imagine something as easy as 1 to 2 injections clearing up your varicose vein. That’s what it’s like with Varithena at Florida Lakes Vein Center. Varithena can greatly reduce or even eliminate varicosities in as few as 1 to 2 needle sticks each visit.
During this fast, nonsurgical, and minimally invasive procedure, your provider applies a topical numbing cream to the treatment area to keep you comfortable. Once that has taken effect, our specialist injects a specialized microfoam sealant into the diseased vein.
The microfoam closes off the vein, redirecting blood flow to healthier veins as the diseased vein collapses. Directly after your treatment, you need to wear compression stockings for 24 to 48 hours, but then you can go about your business as you wish.
Over the next few months, your body reabsorbs each closed-off vein so that there’s no bulging, discoloration, or further problems from that varicosity.
Varithena Doesn’t Prevent Varicose Veins
Varithena treatment from your vein specialist in Lakewood Ranch achieves excellent results treating current varicose veins. However, even after we remove those presenting veins, new varicose veins can form.
Poor blood circulation and damaged veins can continue to cause varicosities. Additional risk factors for varicose veins include:
- Natural aging
- Pregnancy
- Being overweight/obese
- Smoking
- Family history of vein issues
- Surgery
- Medications
- And more
After treatment, we highly recommend taking preventative measures to keep varicose veins at bay for as long as possible. Your Florida Lakes Vein Center provider will recommend the best lifestyle modifications, medicines, and more to help you live life to its fullest.
VenaSeal
Similar to Varithena, VenaSeal brings relief from varicose veins with a simple injection procedure. With as little as one 20 to 30-minute appointment, you can start on the road to eliminating the varicose veins causing you pain, irritation, and embarrassment.
Using a specialized dispensing gun, your vein specialist in Lakewood Ranch injects the VenaSeal through a tiny catheter into the affected vein. VenaSeal consists of a medical glue very similar to “superglue,” which brings the vein walls together and seals off the bulging vein.
Immediately, blood flow diverts into healthier veins in the surrounding tissues. After the appointment, patients need to wear a compression stocking on the affected leg for 24 to 48 hours post-treatment to maximize the effectiveness of the sealant.
As time passes, your body absorbs this inactive vein, allowing you to get back to doing what you want without that varicose vein.
Superglue? Yes, superglue.
VenaSeal takes superglue up a notch with its medical-grade quality. Technically, VenaSeal is a type of cyanoacrylate adhesive that bonds rapidly with contact surfaces, similar to household superglue.
VenaSeal uses the same type of medical-grade sealant that doctors have applied for wound repair and healing for decades.
Related topic: Why Patients Prefer Non-Thermal Vein Treatment in Lakewood Ranch
Thermal Treatments and Their Issues
The umbrella term “endovenous ablation” covers two types of thermal varicose vein treatments: radiofrequency ablation (RFA), and endovenous laser ablation (EVLA). Both treatments use heat to seal off damaged veins so that healthier veins can restore blood flow to healthier veins and improve circulation.
How Radiofrequency Ablation Works
RFA uses radiofrequency energy to heat the vein walls, causing them to collapse and seal themselves. Most providers use both a local anesthetic and a mild general sedative. When the patient gets numbed, the provider makes an incision (usually around the knee) and inserts a thin, flexible tube into the vein.
After that placement, they insert a smaller wire-like instrument into the tube. This instrument delivers radiowave energy similar to microwave energy to heat the vein tissue, causing the vein walls to swell and close off blood flow.
How Endovenous Laser Ablation Works
EVLA follows the same basic protocols that RFA does, except that the instrument inserted into the tube is an optical fiber. This allows laser energy to heat the vein and seal it shut.
Why Florida Lakes Vein Center Doesn’t Offer RFA or EVLA
Your vein specialist in Lakewood Ranch doesn’t do these procedures for several reasons.
Both of these thermal varicose vein treatments cause more pain during treatment, making increased anesthesia and post-treatment pain medications necessary.
They also require longer downtimes to heal from the treatment, and patients have to wear compression stockings for up to a week.
Also, unlike a needle insertion, thermal treatments by necessity create more incisions (to feed the catheter up the leg). This travel distance, plus the heat involved, can also cause nerve damage—an unnecessary risk in light of the less invasive VenaSeal and Varithena treatments we offer.
Permanent and significant nerve damage can lead to:
- Chronic pain
- Numbness
- Leg weakness
Thermal Treatments Create a Higher Risk of Blood Clots, Too
Ablation in any vein also risks causing superficial vein thrombosis (SVT)—blood clots in the treated vein. Since these treatments use heat to damage the venous walls, the blood backed up in the vein gets heated too.
This can cause clots to form. Though not deep vein thrombosis, SVT still creates a serious situation requiring further treatments, possibly even surgical intervention.
Related Topic: Choices for Non-Surgical Treatment for Varicose Veins in Lakewood Ranch
Why Non-Thermal Varicose Vein Treatment Is Better
Knowing the enhanced risks involved with thermal treatments, you can see the reasons your vein specialist in Lakewood Ranch only offers non-thermal procedures.
They’re Less Invasive
Varithena and VenaSeal don’t require incisions. They’re needle-based, and don’t lead to any scarring.
They’re More Comfortable
Our patients find both Varithena and VenaSeal to be very tolerable, and really quite easy—sometimes taking 30 minutes or less to do.
They Need Less Recovery Time
Because our treatments cause less tissue trauma than ablative reduction measures, most patients have shorter recovery time. That’s the best part: you get back to your favorite activities sooner!
They’re Proven and Effective
These advanced non-thermal treatments from your vascular doctor have high success rates in closing and eliminating varicose veins.
They’re Less Risky
Because they don’t need incisions and don’t introduce heat into the body, you greatly reduce any risk of nerve damage, and you have zero possibility of skin burns.
They’re More Flexible
Our non-thermal options treat a wide variety of varicose veins, including those with size or location that make them less suitable for thermal ablation.
They’re More Popular
Our patients prefer these gentler, less invasive approaches to their vein treatment.
Let’s Take a Look at Your Veins
Our team of vein specialists supports your vein health starting with a free vein screening in Lakewood Ranch. This assessment can identify the culprit behind your varicose veins.
Once we determine whether venous insufficiency contributes to your concerns, we can set up an appointment for a vein ultrasound to diagnose and understand your vein problem. We take a real-time look at how well the vein/veins function and use this information, along with the rest of the exam, to determine the best course of action for you, which could include:
Get the “Hottest” Treatments for Varicose Veins
Our non-thermal, non-scarring, minimally invasive procedures clear up your varicose veins. And when you work with the best vein doctor in Florida, you receive vein care that goes beyond the symptoms, finding solutions to your venous issues.
Request a screening and get back to that active Florida life. Going boating, playing the full 18 holes, winning a tennis tournament, dancing on a veranda—you deserve to be able to enjoy your days and nights.
From leg pain relief to swollen ankles treatment and more, we can start your journey to healing!
Where Vein Care Is a Real “No Veiner!®”
T.C. Lackey II, D.O., vein specialist in Lakewood Ranch, leads a team of professionals who value your voice, your health, and your peace of mind. We’ve helped more than 10,000 patients address varicose veins and other venous issues.
At Florida Lakes Vein Center, we put that expertise to work for you with a customized treatment plan that helps you keep doing what you love to do.
Try Our Free Vein Screening Tool