Diseases & Conditions
New ways to treat varicose veins
Simple procedures can eliminate the condition.
Varicose veins are more than just unsightly. They raise your risk of skin ulcers and superficial blood clots if left untreated. Fortunately, there have been some real breakthroughs in treatment in recent years. "Treatment used to be very involved, requiring general anesthesia and a trip to the operating room, but now it's just an office procedure," says Dr. Sherry Scovell, a vascular surgeon and instructor in surgery at Harvard Medical School.
Varicose veinsBlood flows forward in normal veins (1), but blood pools in varicose veins (2). |
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