Varicose Vein Treatment Gets
More and More Simple
By Lois Thomson

Continued

"I think the major points for the patients is that what we offer now (in the way of surgery) is all done in the outpatient setting in the office within two hours with just local anesthesia. There's very little pain involved, no real recovery time."
He makes it sound so simple, and really, it is. And that's good news considering that varicose veins affect 50 to 55 percent of women, and 40 to 45 percent of men, and nearly all of them need some type of treatment. "The official recommendation is that you don't do surgery if you don't have symptoms," Dr. Geskin said, "but 99 percent of the patients have symptoms." Those symptoms include pain, fatigue, and swelling in the legs.
Dr. Geskin said varicose veins are "those bulging veins you see on the surface of the skin. They measure from 2 or 3 mm up to 20 mm in diameter. What varicose veins represent are the branches of some deeper, leaky veins that you don't see. Usually what happens is that one of the deeper veins inside is leaking and they are like Christmas trees. So if the trunk leaks, the branches get bigger and bigger, and that's what you see."
Dr. Geskin talked about two types of procedures used to treat the veins. "One is when we attack this leaky inside vein with the laser. It's done under local anesthesia in the office, and we close it with a laser. The patient walks in, walks out. It usually takes 30 to 45 minutes, and there is very little discomfort involved.
"We also the offer phlebectomy, where we actually take the branches out. We use numbing medicine, local anesthesia only. On the top of the bulging parts we make a needle hole, and we use very small hooks to pull those veins out. Again, the only thing patients feel is the burning from the local anesthesia; they don't feel the rest of the procedure. The phlebectomy usually takes an additional hour."
He said with the laser procedure, patients could return to work the same day. With a phlebectomy, patients are urged to elevate their legs for a couple of days. Simple? Yes.
Dr. Geskin's practice, Jefferson Cardiology Association, is located in the medical building adjacent to Jefferson Hospital. For more information call (412) 469-1500 or visit the web site: www.jeffersoncardiology.com.

For more articles, download the Spring '08 issue (PDF)