Tag: Rockville

Rockville, MD Vein Clinic: Invasive, Non-Invasive, and Minimally-Invasive Procedures – How Are They Different?

A Rockville, MD Vein Clinic Explains the Differences between Invasive, Non-Invasive, and Minimally-Invasive Medical Procedures

In the News articles we provide on this website, we often use the terms “non-invasive” or “minimally-invasive” to describe the procedures we use to treat vein disease, to distinguish them from more traditional “invasive” procedures. So in the interest of clarity, we’ll explain what each of these terms means, and how they affect you as a patient.

Invasive procedures

In medical terms, an invasive procedure is one in which the physician has to either break the skin or enter it through a body cavity. Thus all open surgery is considered invasive, because it requires that surgeons make incisions in the skin with a scalpel, which in turn requires that either local or general anesthesia be used during the procedure. Invasive procedures can be both necessary and life-saving (consider the occasional need for heart surgery, for example). But at the same time invasive procedures incur certain risks, leave scars, and often require lengthy periods of time to recover from. Only a few years ago, back in the “bad old days” of vein disease treatment, an invasive procedure called “vein stripping” was the only way to permanently remove varicose veins.

Non-invasive procedures

In contrast, non-invasive procedures do not require doctors to break the skin or intrude into a body cavity. If your cardiologist recommends that you have an electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG), that is a non-invasive procedure, because the data is obtained through electrodes pasted to the surface of your skin. Other non-invasive procedures related to vein care would be the use of ultrasound to look beneath the surface of the skin to detect vein disease. Most of the diagnostic methods we use in our Rockville, MD vein clinic are non-invasive.

Minimally-invasive procedures

Technically, even getting a flu shot is somewhat invasive, because the needle breaks the skin. But what doctors mean by a minimally-invasive procedure (MIP) is one that accomplishes the same purpose as open surgery, but in a way that is much less invasive. In the treatment of vein disease, such procedures include sclerotherapy, in which a tiny catheter is inserted into a vein to inject a sealing agent and close it, or endovenous laser treatment, in which a tiny laser is inserted into a vein and used to close varicose veins.

MIPs offer many benefits over open surgery and other forms of treatment. Because there are no large incisions, there is less pain and so in many cases even local anesthesia is not needed. The MIPs that our Germantown MD vein specialists use also leave no scars and require no recovery period; it is common for patients to walk into our offices with varicose veins and walk out without them, all in about an hour, and without ever going to a hospital.

How do I find out more about modern minimally-invasive treatments?

If you have varicose veins or spider veins and are interested in finding out how fast, painless, and easy vein treatment in NYC is these days, we recommend that you spend some time looking over the informative articles we’ve provided on our website at https://www.venoushealthcenters.com//. Or, if you’d prefer to speak to us in person, just give us a call at 301-637-3088 and allow the experts at Venous Health Centers to explain all of their minimally-invasive treatment options to you.

Top Vein Center in Rockville: Removing Varicose Veins

A Top Vein Center in Rockville Answers the Question: “Can Vein Doctors Really Make My Varicose Veins Go Away Forever?”

The question in the title of this article truly qualifies as a “Frequently Asked Question,” because it’s one that we are asked by almost every new patient in our practice as varicose vein doctors in Montgomery County.

The short answer to this question is “YES.” But to fully appreciate what this could mean to you if you have varicose veins, we have to explain how healthy veins work, and what causes them to become diseased, and varicose.

What causes varicose veins?

Healthy veins rely on a series of one-way valves that open when surrounding muscles contract, allowing blood to flow through the valves on its way back to the heart and lungs. In normally-functioning veins, these valves then close to keep blood from flowing back into the veins. If the valves begin to malfunction as the result of a disease called chronic venous insufficiency (CVI), they become “leaky,” and blood flows back into the veins and pools there. This is what causes them to swell and take on the bluish-purple color of deoxygenated blood.

Once veins have been damaged by CVI, can they be fixed or repaired?

Sadly, the answer to this question is “NO.” There is no known pharmaceutical or surgical way to repair venous valves once they have become this damaged and the veins have become varicose. Conservative treatment – involving exercise, lifestyle modifications, and wearing compression stockings – can improve your circulation and reduce some of the negative side effects of CVI, but none of these treatments can shrink the swollen veins or return them to their normal color.

So if varicose veins can’t be fixed, how can you say “YES, we can make them go away permanently?”

While veins that have become varicose can’t be repaired, they can be removed, using painless, non-surgical, minimally-invasive treatments that require no hospitalization, and that can be delivered in the comfort of your local Rockville, MD vein clinic. One of the most common treatments that we use as a top vein center in Rockville is sclerotherapy, a technique in which a tiny catheter is inserted into the swollen veins, after which a sealing agent is injected that causes the vein to collapse. Over the next few days, the collapsed veins are then absorbed into surrounding muscle tissue, while healthier veins take over the job of routing blood to your heart.

Once varicose veins have been treated in this way, they really ARE gone forever, and won’t come back. You’ll notice the cosmetic benefits immediately, as your legs regain their natural beauty and all traces of the swollen, discolored veins disappear. But more important, within a few days you’ll start to notice relief from the pain and swelling that accompanies varicose veins, and start experiencing new levels of energy as your circulatory system regains its normal health.

So YES, we can eliminate your ugly varicose veins permanently. The first step towards making this happen is yours – simply pick up your phone and call Dr. Hamza Rana at 301-637-3088 and set up an appointment for a venous health screening. You’ll be happy you did.