A new treatment combats the unsightly veins with a foam injection that expands in the blood vessels. But larger or more complicated varices cases will need surgery.
This can involve stripping the veins, tying them off or injecting an agent to close the vein, which is called sclerotherapy.
"With the conventional stripping technique, the patient has to stay off work for about eight days after...with the foam therapy, they can go back within days," said George Geroulakos, a consultant for the Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust.
More than 50 patients at Ealing Hospital in London have received the foam therapy with good results, says Geroulakos. Geroulakos has been treating patients with the foam technique for two years.
"The early and interim results are really promising, but we have not been doing it long enough to know about the long-term results," he said. This can involve stripping the veins, tying them off or injecting an agent to close the vein, which is called sclerotherapy.
