Varicose veins in your legs occur when the one-way valve in a vein isn't functioning correctly, which allows blood traveling up your legs to be pulled back down by gravity and pool in a vein. The excess blood in the vein causes it to bulge, and you'll be able to see the bulging vein underneath your skin.

Thankfully, numerous treatment options are available that can quickly get rid of the varicose veins on your legs. One common method of removing varicose veins is phlebectomy, in which a doctor makes several incisions along the length of the varicose vein and then removes it from your leg using a hooked instrument. The area around the vein will be injected with an anesthetic, which minimizes the amount of discomfort you'll feel during the procedure. To learn about the advantages and disadvantages of using phlebectomy to treat your varicose veins, read on.

Advantages of Using Phlebectomy to Remove Varicose Veins

The main benefit of choosing phlebectomy to remove your varicose veins is that you'll see immediate results. Other common methods of treating varicose veins don't remove the vein, they only destroy it and wait for your body to naturally reabsorb the vein. These treatment methods include sclerotherapy, in which a medication is injected into the vein in order to destroy it, and laser ablation, which uses an intense laser to burn the walls of the vein and destroy it.

While these treatment methods are effective at removing varicose veins, it takes a while before the destroyed vein is reabsorbed by your body, and you'll still have symptoms before it's reabsorbed. A phlebectomy, on the other hand, removes the varicose vein from your body altogether. This makes a phlebectomy a good choice if you need immediate results. For example, you may be planning a beach vacation and need to get rid of the unsightly varicose veins on your leg in order to feel comfortable in a swimsuit. A phlebectomy is also a good option when your varicose veins are causing you pain, since removing the vein will provide instant symptom relief.

Disadvantages of Using Phlebectomy to Remove Varicose Veins

The primary downside of using a phlebectomy to get rid of your varicose veins is that the procedure requires numerous incisions. The doctor performing the procedure will need to make tiny incisions across the entire length of the vein being removed. Unfortunately, this can result in scarring. Other treatment options like sclerotherapy and laser ablation have a significantly decreased risk of scarring — sclerotherapy only requires an injection, and laser ablation only requires one small incision near the vein instead of numerous incisions.

Thankfully, you can minimize your risk of scarring after a phlebectomy by making sure you keep your legs out of direct sunlight while your scars heal. You can also apply silicone gel to your legs in order to help your incision scars heal with less discoloration.

If you think that a phlebectomy would be the best choice to remove your varicose veins, contact a leg vein disorder treatment provider in your area that provides this procedure — such as AmeriVein - Gregory Spitz, MD Ltd. The ability to give you instant results makes it a good option when you want to get rid of your varicose veins as soon as possible — you won't have to wait for a damaged vein to be reabsorbed by your body when you simply remove it with a phlebectomy.