Frequently Asked Questions

We expect that all the veins that are treated are going to be gone. There’s a possibility that you would develop new veins down the line since this is a lifetime disorder which we are currently unable to cure. However, the veins that we treat with laser phlebectomy and ultrasound guided foam sclerotherapy should be gone completely, with the exception of your tendency to develop new vein issues.

Unfortunately, there is currently no cure for varicose veins, however they are ALWAYS treatable using a variety of techniques. Modern technology has done away with the outdated and dangerous “vein stripping” procedures which Vein Center of New Mexico NEVER utilizes. We can treat your veins and get rid of your veins, but because of genetic predispositions, new veins may develop down the road. Remember, we can always manage your varicose veins to give you great relief and cosmetic improvement.

Compression hose or stockings are recommended to patients in their post-operative period. Many physicians feel that wearing compression stockings will aid in the closure of treated veins. Many insurance companies now REQUIRE that patients wear stockings for a given length of time BEFORE treatment to improve symptoms and to determine if a patient will truly benefit from surgery.

Patients who DO have an improvement when they wear compression stockings are really compressing their veins and lessening their symptoms. This would indicate that they can benefit from laser or ultrasound therapy to permanently remove the veins.

Compression stockings DO play an active role in the treatment of symptoms as well as aiding in recovery after surgery.

Assuming that you don’t already have varicose veins, we implore you to consider what may be a lifestyle change,  which involves wearing below-the-knee compression socks. These are fitted, lightweight and a prescription is not necessary. We’d also ask that you begin walking at least a mile a day, every day. This will activate an important pump in your calf called the “muscular venous pump”, which is so important that it’s actually considered to be a “second heart” by many in medical circles. This pump in your calf returns blood back to your heart, and it is ONLY activated by walking, heel-to-toe. Stair-steppers and other machines DO NOT accomplish what walking and running can do for this muscular pump in your calves.

Generally, insurance will cover the treatment of large vein disease, or varicose veins. This is considered a medical problem by most insurance companies and they will pay according to whatever percentage the patient is responsible for. Our office will make every effort to obtain the best insurance rates for you by dealing directly with your insurance company after we perform a full evaluation in our office.

Insurance will NOT cover the cosmetic aspect, which is the treatment of spider veins.

This is a tale passed down through generations, which is simply untrue. A study published by a Canadian phlebologist who is a specialist in vein disease, determined that crossing your legs has absolutely NO effect on the development of varicose veins. So, feel free to cross your legs as much as you like!

The veins that we remove no longer perform any normal function as far as returning blood to your heart and lungs. They’re actually sending blood flow to your feet, which increases the burden on your deep venous system. Once these abnormal veins are eliminated, all of your blood flow will go in the correct direction (back to your heart), and your system will be operating much more efficiently.

We think that YOU need to determine whether or not you wish to have something done for your vein issues. If in fact you have pain and swelling, you are certainly a candidate in the eyes of the insurance companies to have treatment which would be definitively aimed at removing them. If, on the other hand, you have spider veins, that is strictly a cosmetic concern, and the procedures to remove them would be at your expense.

The deep system of veins in your legs is the main route for returning blood flow to your heart, returning about 90% of the blood back to your heart. The superficial system returns only 10% of the blood. When you have varicose veins, the blood in your SUPERFICIAL system is traveling towards your feet, which is abnormal and is responsible for the symptoms you’re experiencing. MOST of this blood flow, however, does get into the DEEP system and flows back to the heart and lungs, with only a small portion flowing back down the legs. If we close down the reverse-flowing varicose vein “pipeline”, this makes sure that ALL of your blood – 100% – is now flowing in the proper direction toward your heart and lungs. This causes a significant improvement in your health, and removing diseased veins can only make you better!

After vein treatment, many patients ask if they need to be hospitalized and take time off work to recover. Our answer is: absolutely not! Hospitalization after vein treatment is a thing of the past (due to the fact that vein “stripping” surgery is no longer performed).

We encourage most of our patients to return to work IMMEDIATELY after their treatments. If a patient is undergoing ultrasound guided foam sclerotherapy, they can go back to work right away. If a patient undergoes laser ablation, which requires a local anesthetic in the legs, they can usually return to work that same afternoon, unless of course they’ve had some medications to lessen their discomfort during treatment – then we ask that they wait until the next day to return to normal activity.

Untreated varicose veins advance over time and can produce bleeding, blood clots and worst of all, ulcers. These are all potential problems if your varicose veins are untreated. Generally, however, these symptoms do not occur until much farther down the line of long-standing varicose veins. Whether or not you have treatment is based on whether you have pain and swelling and not so much the fear of having these other symptoms, unless you experience changes to your skin like dark brown pigmentation and thickening of the skin in your lower calves and ankle areas. These issues would indicate a much more advanced stage that’s referred to as “advanced venous hypertension.” This would require treatment of a more urgent nature.

We find that this claim is very common among many doctors in private practices. However, many of them are not aware of all the current developments and changes in the ever-evolving field of phlebology, or the treatment of venous disorders. We are. We use only the latest technology to treat vein disorders, and those include laser ablation, ambulatory phlebectomy, and ultrasound guided foam sclerotherapy. Vein “stripping” is an outmoded, barbaric and dangerous practice which we do NOT recommend to anyone.

Deciding not to treat your varicose veins is a valid alternative in a conservative management plan, provided you wear compression stockings and adopt an active lifestyle of walking at least a mile a day.

However, if left untreated, over time varicose veins will simply get larger and possibly discolor the skin (hyper-pigmentation), cause bleeding or venous ulcers. We recommend getting your veins treated IF you are symptomatic (i.e., have pain or swelling or other symptoms). We do NOT treat patients who have no symptoms whatsoever.

After treatment we recommend that patients walk a mile a day. We also recommend that you not perform any physical exercises such as weightlifting or related activities to avoid putting excessive pressure on the venous system. Ordinarily you can do most anything you want after two weeks after being treated for large vein disease or after cosmetic sclerotherapy. Long travels are ill-advised for at least two weeks after procedures. Everyone should wear compression socks on trans-continental flights.