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Vein Ablation Specialist

Midwest Institute for Non-Surgical Therapy Our Services Vein Ablation
Midwest Institute for Non-Surgical Therapy - - Vascular and Interventional Radiologist

Midwest Institute for Non-Surgical Therapy

Vascular and Endovascular Specialist located in St. Louis, MO; Evergreen Park, IL; Chicago, IL; Swansea, IL.

If you have varicose veins, painful legs, or a nonhealing ulcer on your lower leg, vein ablation may be the treatment you need. As a board-certified specialist in minimally invasive procedures, Goke Akinwande, MD, at Midwest Institute for Non-surgical Therapy (MINT) frequently performs vein ablation in the office. Vein ablation quickly eliminates varicose veins, treats the underlying cause, and restores normal circulation. To schedule an appointment, call one of our offices in St. Louis, MO and Swansea, IL or book an appointment online today.

Vein Ablation Q&A

What is vein ablation?

Vein ablation, also called endovenous ablation, is a procedure that uses heat from a laser or radiofrequency energy to seal veins shut. During the procedure, your MINT provider uses a catheter to send gentle heat into the vein wall.

The heat makes the vein walls collapse. As the treated veins turn into scar tissue, your body naturally absorbs the waste and reroutes blood through the nearby healthy veins.

What conditions are treated with vein ablation?

The team at MINT uses vein ablation to treat venous insufficiency and eliminate varicose veins. Venous insufficiency develops when valves in your leg veins fail.

Normally, the valves keep blood flowing up your leg and toward your heart. When one or more valves fail and blood refluxes down your leg, some of the blood pools in the vein and doesn’t return to your heart. This condition is called venous insufficiency.

As blood engorges the vein, venous insufficiency leads to bulging, twisted varicose veins. Venous insufficiency also raises blood pressure in the vein in your lower leg, which leads to serious health complications.

What symptoms indicate I might need vein ablation?

Venous insufficiency and varicose veins cause leg symptoms such as:

  • Pain
  • Swelling
  • Aching and itching
  • Burning sensation
  • Feeling of heaviness
  • Thick, dark reddish-brown skin
  • Venous eczema
  • Venous ulcers

High venous pressure forces fluids out of small veins in your lower leg. The leaking fluids irritate the skin, cause an inflammatory eczema-like skin rash, and break down the surrounding tissues.

As the tissues break down, ulcers develop. Venous ulcers are a serious problem because they won’t heal without intensive wound care from the team at MINT. Without treatment, the ulcers keep enlarging and increase your risk of getting an infection.

What happens during vein ablation?

To ensure your comfort during the procedure, your MINT provider offers twilight sedation, an anesthetic option you can’t get at many vein centers. Then your provider makes a pinpoint puncture and inserts a catheter into the leg vein.

Using ultrasound to see your veins and guide the catheter, they thread the catheter through the varicose vein or the area of the vein with damaged valves. As they slowly withdraw the catheter, they send laser energy or radiofrequency energy into the vein.

Vein ablation procedures only take about 20 minutes, and you’ll be able to leave the office within one hour of your appointment. Most patients return to work and their usual activities the next day.

If you’re ready to eliminate varicose veins or relieve leg pain, call Midwest Institute for Non-surgical Therapy or schedule an appointment online today.