Laser Treatment for Varicose Veins



The CTEV provides an ideal treatment for endovenous ablation of varicose veins. The 1320 nm wavelength targets water in the vessel wall, not hemoglobin, which means a much more comfortable procedure for patients without post-op bruising or swelling.



Traditionally, varicose veins have been treated in several different ways. The most widely performed treatment has been to surgically strip and ligate the affected veins. Vein stripping can require hospitalization, is often very painful and frequently does not fully solve the problem, requiring additional treatments. Not to mention, surgical procedures can carry a higher risk of complications and can require significant patient downtime.



Radiofrequency (RF) heating and sclerotherapy are alternate therapies for the treatment of large vein insufficiencies. The RF technique can be difficult to learn and is very expensive to perform. Large vein sclerotherapy is associated with vein recurrence and thrombophlebitis, and the sclerosant agents used can cause allergic reactions, pain or discoloration of surface tissues.



Fact: Laser therapy has demonstrated excellent clinical results and outstanding patient satisfaction compared to alternate therapies.



Laser technology offers a non-surgical, highly successful and cost-effective alternative to stripping, RF and sclerotherapy. This patient-friendly treatment is performed on an outpatient basis under local anesthesia. Patients experience very little or no pain and are able to return to normal activity very quickly. Since the laser actually destroys the whole lining of the vein, the opportunity for new collateral veins to grow is greatly minimized, resulting in varicose veins reappearing in only about 4% of laser-treated cases. With stripping plus sclerotherapy, varicose veins reappear in about 30% of the cases and for sclerotherapy alone the recurrence rate is more than 70%.