History of Leg Vein Treatments

History Of Leg Vein Treatments

The history of leg vein treatments goes back thousands of years.  The Greeks recorded treating varicose veins by irritating them with a wire. Later surgery became a standard for the knottier varicose veins. Even today surgery is still used.  Sometimes this can be localised vein removal like phlebectomy.  At times the more invasive stripping is employed.

 Sclerotherapy, by instilling an irritant solution of various types, has been used for many years.  This was widely used in the English-speaking world more as a holding technique.

The European schools practised a particular sequence of treatment that has shown over time to be very effective and is now used by many others. The French developed the now widely practised ultrasound guided techniques that allow treatment of varicose veins that would previously have required surgery.

Lasers are now also being used in varicose vein and spider vein treatment. In the past the results were not very encouraging. Results had been patchy due to a number of factors.

The interference with the skin dilutes the effect of the light. The fact that the vessels are a circular structure, means there is not even penetration of light to all the walls of the vessels, produceing an uneven response.

And the causative feeder vessels can be too large in diameter for the closure with even long wavelengths of laser.  The history of leg vein treatments is still being added to.  Other references.