If people have RLS and venous disease and get the venous disease treated, I think about 75% will see improvment in the RLS.

Published on Jul 11, 2012

That depends on whether your varicose veins are causing your restless legs. A small percentage say 5-10% [my best guess] of restless legs syndrome (RLS) is caused by varicose veins. Affected individuals with RLS caused by varicose veins usually have larger varicose veins. Though the percentage of people with RLS who see significant improvement from treating varicose veins is small, there are few treatments that can permanently impact RLS.

Published on Jul 11, 2012

The procedures are not FDA approved to treat restless legs. There are two small studies that show that endovenous ablation for venous insufficiency may improve restless legs in patients, NOT restless legs syndrome necessarily.

I tell my patients that if the restless legs improve, it is an additional benefit of the procedure. I do not claim that endovenous ablations are done to help patients with restless legs or RLS. RLS is a neurologic disease, not a venous disorder.

Published on Jul 11, 2012

Restless legs can be a symptom of venous insufficiency and valvular reflux. However, there are many other causes of restless leg syndrome, including medications and neurologic issues. If the RLS is due to venous insufficiency, then there is a high success rate in improving these symptoms following an ablation procedure.

Published on Jul 11, 2012