Everyone wants to feel beautiful, and the way your skin looks is a major component of feeling attractive. Aging can have a big impact on your skin, causing wrinkles, sagging, and varicose veins to appear. Fortunately, effective treatment options for varicose veins can restore your skin, making it look healthy and gorgeous.
At Tinsley Surgical in Wilmington, North Carolina, we bring you the best in vein care in a supportive and comfortable environment. Dr. Ellis A. Tinsley is a highly respected vascular surgeon with extensive experience providing patients with the latest treatment options for a full range of vein conditions. Dr. Tinsley offers treatment for varicose veins that have become painful, unsightly, or bothersome.
What are varicose veins?
Your veins are tiny tubes in your body that carry blood back to your heart. Sometimes the veins don’t work as they should, and blood pools inside of them, swelling the veins and causing them to appear as blue or purple lines on your skin. Though not typically dangerous, this condition, known as varicose veins, can cause irritation, pain, and problems with your skin’s appearance.
Varicose veins are very common in adults, especially in women. About 25% of adults have them.
Treatments for varicose veins
A number of treatment options for varicose veins can relieve your symptoms and address the veins’ ugly appearance.
Lifestyle changes
Sometimes lifestyle changes such as losing weight and exercising more can improve your circulation and reduce your varicose veins. Compression stockings which fit tightly over your legs are a useful tool for helping the blood move in the direction of your heart.
Sclerotherapy
Sclerotherapy is an advanced form of treatment for varicose veins. Dr. Tinsley injects a foam called Varithena® into the varicose veins. The form cuts off the flow of blood through the vein, causing it to eventually collapse and disappear. The blood instead moves through neighboring, healthy veins.
Laser therapy
Similar to sclerotherapy, laser therapy is a treatment for varicose veins that seals off the affected veins so blood can’t flow through them. To complete this treatment, Dr. Tinsley uses a laser light to direct a beam of energy into your varicose veins, heating them so the vein closes. This noninvasive therapy is best used on small varicose veins.
Which treatment is right for you?
Dr. Tinsley meets with you to review your medical history, complete a physical exam and any needed testing, and talk with you about your symptoms and medical concerns. He then recommends the form of varicose vein treatment he thinks would work best for you.
Generally speaking, lifestyle changes work best in milder cases, and laser therapy works best on slightly more significant varicose veins. Sclerotherapy is highly effective but is slightly more invasive, and works best on more significant varicose veins.
Although varicose veins are not dangerous, they can cause irritation and be unsightly. To learn more about options for treating varicose veins, call or message our office to set up an appointment.