The vascular disease experts at Henry Ford offer the full range of treatments for varicose veins. Whether your case is mild or severe, our vascular surgeons and vascular medicine specialists tailor a treatment plan just for you. Find out more about the Henry Ford Vein Center.
Lifestyle changes and self-care for varicose veins
Most people who have mild symptoms see our vascular specialists for ongoing management. Lifestyle changes and self-care can relieve symptoms, keep varicose veins from getting worse and help prevent possible complications.
Recommendations for healthy lifestyle habits
Small changes can slow the progress of varicose veins and improve your symptoms. Our vascular specialists have years of experience helping people develop realistic goals to:
- Eat a nutritious, low-sodium diet to help lose weight and prevent swelling from water retention
- Stay physically active to help lose weight and maintain good blood circulation in the legs
- Maintain a healthy weight
Self-care for varicose veins
You can take steps on your own to improve the way you feel. Self-care for varicose veins includes:
- Wearing compression stockings to relieve swelling and help move blood up to the heart
- Changing your position about every hour to avoid sitting or standing in one position for too long
- Raising your legs above your heart three to four times per day for 15 minutes each time
- Avoiding tight clothes, especially on the waist and lower body
- Wearing low-heeled shoes to help tone your calf muscles to improve blood flow to the heart
- Taking proper care of any wounds, with instructions from your care team
- Moisturizing dry, cracked skin on your legs, using lotions recommended by your care team
Noninvasive and minimally invasive varicose vein treatments
For more severe varicose veins that cause pain or other symptoms, our vascular doctors offer the latest noninvasive and minimally invasive treatments. Your care team has extensive expertise with these outpatient procedures, developed from helping thousands of people. We use safe, effective treatments with little or no downtime.
Minimally invasive and noninvasive procedures close off varicose veins, which then fade. These therapies don’t disrupt blood circulation because blood goes to other, healthy veins.
Noninvasive treatments
Our noninvasive treatment options include:
- Sclerotherapy: Your vascular specialist injects liquid or foam chemicals into the affected veins, causing them to collapse and gradually fade. We typically use liquid for small to medium varicose veins and foam for larger veins. About 90 percent of veins receiving sclerotherapy go away in just two to three treatments.
- Surface laser therapy: Your specialist applies a handheld laser to the affected surface of your skin. Bursts of light break down the wall of the varicose vein, which gradually fades. We typically use this procedure to treat small varicose veins.
- Vein sealing: Using the VenaSeal™ system, we inject special medical glue to close the problematic vein. Blood continues to flow through other nearby veins, relieving symptoms.
Minimally invasive treatments
Many of our minimally invasive treatments take an endovascular approach, with work done inside the vein. Minimally invasive options include:
- Endovenous ablation: This endovascular procedure for larger varicose veins uses a tiny incision. Your vascular surgeon inserts a catheter (thin, flexible tube) into the vein and heats it using energy from light (laser) or radio waves (radiofrequency). As the surgeon slowly pulls the catheter out, the heat seals the vein shut.
- Microphlebectomy: Also known as ambulatory phlebectomy, this procedure removes small varicose veins through several tiny incisions.
- Incompetent perforator vein treatment: This endovascular procedure treats veins whose valves no longer work properly. Your doctor uses ultrasound-guided sclerotherapy and ablation, with the heat coming from laser or radiofrequency energy.
- Endovenous stenting: This minimally invasive procedure relieves ulcers on legs or ankles caused by nearby vein blockages. Your vascular surgeon uses special X-rays (fluoroscopy) and intravascular ultrasound to guide the work. The surgeon places a stent (tiny metal mesh tube) in the blocked or narrowed area as a scaffold to keep the vein open.