Banish Spider Veins and Varicose Veins

Did you know that 30-60% of adults have spider veins or varicose veins? But these issues are treatable with minimally invasive, in-office procedures.

At Desert West Vein & Surgery Center in El Paso, Texas, board-certified Dr. Atur Kasha and the rest of our team can treat your circulatory issues that cause vein problems. 

Here’s what you need to know so you can bid them goodbye before summer.

What’s the difference between spider veins and varicose veins?

It’s usually easy to differentiate between spider veins and varicose veins just by looking at them.

Spider veins

Spider veins typically look like thin blue, red, or purple squiggly lines that take on a weblike appearance. You can have spider veins anywhere on your body, but they’re very common to see on your legs.

Varicose veins

Varicose veins can have a bubbly appearance. They typically look thick, raised, swollen, and rope-like. You can also have varicose veins in different areas of your body, but they mostly appear in your legs.

These vein disorders typically occur when one or more valves in the blood vessels close to the surface of your skin become weak or damaged, allowing blood to pool or branch off in new directions.

Causes of vein issues

You may have been told in the past that you shouldn’t cross your legs or stand up for too long, or you’d get varicose veins. 

While these activities can certainly increase your chances of developing vein issues, there are other factors, including:

• Aging
• Genetics
• Being overweight or obese
• Hormonal fluctuations during puberty, pregnancy, and menopause
• Using birth control or hormone replacement therapy
• Having a history of blood clots
• Conditions that put pressure on your abdomen, like constipation and tumors

Treatment for spider veins 

In most cases, we primarily treat spider veins cosmetically. It only takes about 30 minutes and can be done right in the office.

Laser therapy

Dr. Kasha uses a handheld device to erase your unsightly spider veins using laser light. It permanently damages the vessels that have faulty blood flow. Your body absorbs the treated blood vessels, and your spider veins fade away.

This safe, gentle, and minimally invasive treatment only takes about 30 minutes and requires little, if any, downtime.

Sclerotherapy

This common treatment for medium-size veins involves injecting a special agent into your veins. This solution causes irritation inside the vein, which causes it to close off, shrivel up, turn white, and absorb into your body. The procedure takes about 15-30 minutes.

We recommend that you wear compression hose after this procedure to get the maximum effect. For best results, we often combine sclerotherapy with laser therapy to help destroy the damaged vein walls more effectively. 

Treatment for varicose veins

In the past, treating vein conditions, especially varicose veins, involved painful treatments and lengthy downtimes. Fortunately, we’ve come a long way since then. 

At Desert West Vein & Surgery Center, Dr. Kasha and our skilled team offer several treatment options so you can make your problematic veins go away.

Radiofrequency ablation

This treatment sends radiofrequency current into your vein with a small catheter. We first apply a local anesthetic before your procedure to keep you comfortable.

The energy causes your vein to heat up and shrink. We remove the catheter and seal your vein shut so your blood can flow freely again. The process takes about 30-90 minutes.

Endovenous laser therapy (EVLT)

This minimally invasive procedure uses laser energy to shut your veins that aren’t functioning properly. The process improves your blood flow and allows faulty veins to be absorbed by your body. It takes about 30-45 minutes for each leg.

Get your legs in shape

To give your legs a whole new look for summer, contact our office to schedule an appointment. You can call us at 915-313-9569 or send us a message.