If the patient can tolerate the pain during the RF endovenous ablation of varicose veins, is it possible that they can use conscious sedation for the procedure? Is it also possible that the procedure can last for two hours?
The risks of general anesthesia are not necessary for ablation of saphenous veins. Saphenous Vein Ablation can be done safely and effectively under local , tumescent anesthesia. There is no need for general anesthesia for this procedure for the vast majority of patients because general anesthesia has a risk of about .3% (3 in 10,000) of a serious complication or death for the average patient with a chronic medical condition. To me that is an unacceptably high risk.
Published on Jul 11, 2012
Using general anesthesia to perform RF ablation is really overkill. RF or laser ablation only require local anesthesia to perform. Both procedures, when performed by an experienced practitioner, are minimally uncomfortable. Most of my patients find that the procedures are relatively painless. Should the procedure last two hours? No. In my office, it takes longer for my staff to sterilize the treatment leg than for me to perform the procedure. 10-15 minutes is probably all an experienced doctor needs to perform an average RF or laser ablation procedure. If your practitioner needs two hours to do the procedure, I would be looking elsewhere.
Published on Jul 11, 2012
Adequate tumescent anesthesia avoids many of the problems associated with both conscious sedation and general anesthesia. It also shortens the procedure time. One of the advantages of tumescent anesthesia too is that if you feel a bit of pain during treatment, additional anesthesia can easily be added, and this avoids the chance of heat associated nerve injury if you are totally sedated and cannot feel anything. It is also rare for a procedure to last for two hours, but I do not know the details of the case.
Published on Jul 11, 2012
We use a Xanax if patients request it, otherwise they don't require any sedation at all. The leg is infiltrated with tumescent anesthesia to numb it so it should be painless. There is no need for general anesthesia. Some of our patients read their Kindle during the procedure. Some of the prep work and tumescent can take time so from entering to leaving can take two hours.
Published on Jul 11, 2012
RF or Laser vein ablation is usually done under local and tumescent anesthesia and not general anesthesia. Using general anesthesia is not necessarily wrong but is just not the current state of the art way to do the procedure.
Published on Jul 11, 2012
In our practice, Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA) is performed in the office setting utilizing tumescent anesthesia (local numbing). There is absolutely no sedation that we utilize, which means patients can walk following the procedure, drive themselves home and go for an hour long walk. The procedure typically lasts 30-60 minutes and is performed without sedation. Hope this helps.
Published on Jul 11, 2012