The small, purple veins in your legs bother you, but not enough to seek treatment. Varicose veins don't go away, and if you continue to ignore them, they'll become large and more unsightly. The time to have varicose veins treatment is when they are small. You'll likely get rid of them without a trace. Wait until they're larger and you risk scarring on your legs where the veins were removed. Here are some of the current ways that varicose veins are treated and which treatments leave no trace of the vein when they are gone.

Sclerotherapy

With this technique, a substance is injected directly into the vein. The chemical irritates the wall of the blood vessel making it shrink. As the vessel shrinks, the blood clots in the vein. Slowly, your body absorbs both the blood vessel and the clot until there is no sign of the varicose vein. This technique is reserved for small varicose veins. When you have this done when the veins are small, you'll likely have no sign of the vein afterwards.

Laser Vein Treatment

This technique requires a small incision to be made over the vein being treated. A small tube with a laser at the end is inserted into the vein. Light or heat is used to create scars in the blood vessel causing it to shrink. The blood in the vessel also clots, and the body absorbs the tissues. This is most effective on smaller varicose veins and will leave no trace.

Radiofrequency Ablation

This treatment is similar to the laser therapy. A small incision is first made over the vein and a tube inserted which delivers radio waves to the wall of the blood vessel. The vein shrinks, the blood cots and the body absorbs it like the previous two treatments. This is also used on smaller varicose veins, and the results leave no trace.

When your varicose veins get larger, these three treatments are not normally performed. The remaining treatments available to you will remove the vein but will likely leave scars or bruises where the veins existed.

Vein Stripping

This treatment is reserved for long veins which are damaged in several places. These veins must be manually removed by a vascular surgeon. An incision is made at the start of the vein, and a long rod is passed down through the length of the vein. Smaller incisions are made in several places above the blood vessel, and the vein is tied to the rod at these points. The rod is then slowly pulled out of your leg with the vein attached to it. You will have some scarring where the vein was located in the leg.

Phlebectomy

The largest varicose veins must be removed in pieces. Several incisions are made above the blood vessel and it is cut up into small pieces that can be removed through the initial incision. You'll have several scars along your leg where the vein was removed.

For more information, contact Alaska Vein Care or a similar location.