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What is Varicose Veins?
Many people have put off treatment for their varicose leg veins thinking they would have to face vein stripping (a major surgery requiring hospitalizationand general anesthesia), several weeks of recovery down-time, significant post-operative scarring and pain. Endovenous Laser Treatment (ELT) offers a virtually pain-free, quick and highly successful treatment alternative that gets you back to your life on the same day.
What is Endovenous Laser Treatment?
Endovenous Laser Treatment (ELT) is a procedure whereby laser is used to heat seal veins in the leg that lead to varicose veins. Dr See is the first Vascular Surgeon in Southeast Asia to use the CoolTouch CTEV1320 nm Laser for this procedure. A small incision is made near the knee and the laser fibre is inserted into the underlying vein. The fibre is then passed op the vein into the groin region. As the fibre is withdrawn the laser is activated and heats and closes the vein. Once the vein is closed, the blood that was circulating through the vein is simply rerouted to other healthy veins. EVLT is minimally invasive and is performed as a day procedure. There is no need for hospitalisation. The patient is awake during the entire procedure, but will not feel any pain, as the leg will be numbed using local anaesthetic. The entire procedure usually takes about 1 hour. Only very small incisions (usually about 4mm) are made and there is very little bruising, resulting in cosmetically pleasing results.
After the procedure, the leg will be put in a compression stocking and the patient will be able to stand and walk. Symptoms will rapidly begin to improve immediately after the ELT procedure. Patients are usually able to work on the same day and resume full normal activity after 2 weeks. However, depending on their severity, some symptoms may take a few weeks to completely disappear. Pain, bruising or post-op complications are minimal, if any; and the success rate approaches 100% in some studies. |
General Knowledge & Education