I'm a 25-year- old male and I have many veins on my calf, ankle and tibia. After X-rays, the doctor told me that my deep veins are healthy enough so I don't need EVLT. However, he recommended several sclerotherapy sessions. What should I do?
It appears as if your visible veins are cosmetic in nature. No medical indication to treat unless you would like to eliminate them from an aesthetic standpoint. A normal superficial venous system does not warrant medical intervention.
Published on Jul 11, 2012
Thank you for your question. First off, what type of veins do you have? Venous disease can have a variety of visible manifestations including spider and varicose veins. Also, I am assuming that you had a screening doppler ultrasound of your leg veins, rather than an X-ray. An X-ray would not be a suitable test to look at veins. If your ultrasound demonstrated no unhealthy flow in deeper veins, then you would probably not benefit or qualify for a thermal ablation (EVLT or EVRT). Sometimes if the clinical suspicion is high enough, an otherwise healthy 25 year old with prominent varicose and spider veins with no other cause (such as history of localized trauma, venous clots, etc), a repeat ultrasound might be warranted. If a repeat exam was normal, then sclerotherapy may be a suitable option for visible spider veins.
Published on Jul 11, 2012
Absolutely not. You should have a complete vein map done first.
Published on Jul 11, 2012
I would recommend a consultation with a vascular surgeon. He or she should do a venous duplex reflux assessment.
Published on Jul 11, 2012
Either trust the physician you saw and decide if you want treatment, or get a second opinion. The X-ray was likely an ultrasound, and the term deep veins probably refers to superficial veins above the muscle, but deep to the skin. He is correct in not recommending ablation of a normal vein.
Published on Jul 11, 2012
Sclerotherapy is the treatment of choice for spider and reticular veins, but if you have varicose veins, then there has to be a refluxing valve responsible for this. Your deep veins have nothing to do with spider veins. The test of choice is a venous ultrasound.
Published on Jul 11, 2012
Sclerotherapy may be the appropriate treatment for you. However, ultrasound is typically performed rather than X-rays to understand the anatomy and causes of your veins.
Published on Jul 11, 2012
In general, it all depends on whether they bother you. There is no need to treat veins that are not problematic or causing symptoms. However, this does not mean you can't have those veins treated for cosmetic reasons, say if you are unhappy with their appearance. That said, treatment is usually reserved for patients who are experiencing symptoms as a result of their spider or varicose veins.
Published on Jul 11, 2012