What are Varicose Veins?
Veins contain many one-way valves to help the upward flow of
blood back to the heart. If the valves fail to work properly, blood
can flow in the wrong direction, causing varicose veins often in
the legs. A varicose vein often appears engorged or twisted,
and can be a blue or dark purple colour on the skin. Varicose veins
do not tend to get better without treatment, and usually get worse
with time.
Vnus Closure is the name of a fairly new technique which reduces
the need for some of the invasive parts of the surgical
treatment.
What does this involve?
Varicose veins surgery is usually performed under general
anaesthetic as a day case, although an overnight stay may be
required if both legs are operated on.
A Vascular Technologist identifies the veins using an ultrasound
scanner and your Surgeon will use a specialised catheter to
obliterate the veins with controlled heating by radiofrequency
energy. The catheter is passed up and into the main vein to
the groin from a very small cut in the skin below the knee, guided
by the ultrasound scanning.
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When will I recover?
You should be able to go home later on the same day and you
should be able to return to work after one or two weeks although
this may vary depending upon your type of work. You may need
to wear support stockings and as long as your wounds have healed,
you should be able to carry out normal activities by four
weeks.
You will have a follow up ultrasound scan and appointment around
six weeks after the operation.
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What risks should I know about?
Varicose Vein Vnus Closure surgery is a routinely performed
operation and carries some minor risks. Sometimes a little
blood may ooze from the wound during the first 24 hours and you may
develop a lump under a wound, experience some swelling, numbness or
tingling or, in rare cases, some nerve damage.
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Circle care
Varicose Vein Vnus closure surgery is carried out at our state
of the art facilities in CircleBath and Nottingham and we have a
dedicated team of surgeons and nurses who will guide you through
the process from first consultation to after-care and will be
available to answer any questions or queries you may have.
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