Varicose veins develop on legs due to a number of reasons, which makes patients -- both men and women -- conscious about their physical appearance and concerned about the long-term health implications of the problem. Some patients consider surgery an option, while others who are afraid of invasive procedures prefer to hide the varicose veins by wearing long skirts, dresses and trousers. It is a common misconception that walking or standing for long periods of time causes varicose veins. “I spend a long time standing in class since I have about five classes a day,” said Khawla Abou-Asal, a Palestinian teacher. “In addition to school work, I am a housewife and have many responsibilities at home such as cleaning and cooking which require me to stand up for around two hours everyday. After I got married and took up a job I noticed that varicose veins started to appear,”said Abou-Asal. Saudi Gazette met Dr. Abdulqader Bin Mosen Al-Qnawi, Head of the Radiology Unit at King Abdul Aziz Medical City for the National Guard at Jeddah, who explained a newly discovered method for the treatment of varicose veins by laser scans. Explaining how varicose veins develop, Dr. Al-Qnawi said, “Veins transfer blood from different parts of the body to the heart. Normally, this is a one-way mechanism which prevents blood from returning to the lower parts of the body due to gravity. But if the valves within the veins cannot close, blood gathers in the lower limbs and puts pressure on the veins, leading to the expansion and visibility of the veins outside.” “Besides the impact of varicose veins on the physical appearance of the lower limbs, it may cause pain, swelling, a sense of heaviness and even eczema and ulcers if left untreated,” he added. According to Dr. Al-Qnawi, “Genetics plays an important role in the occurrence of varicose veins, where 40 percent of women and 25 percent of men develop varicose veins in various stages of life. Varicose veins can develop because of pregnancy, jobs that require standing or sitting for long periods, weight gain, lack of exercise and aging.” The new technique to treat varicose veins is called “EVLT” which is a quick fix by laser therapy performed under local anesthesia. This closes off the varicose veins without surgery and is a relatively painless procedure. “The duration of treatment does not exceed 60 minutes and the patient is encouraged to start walking and exercising as soon as possible to make the recovery faster. A patient can go back to work within a day or two after treatment,” added Dr. Al-Qanwi. Describing the procedure, Dr. Al-Qanwi said, “After sterilizing the portion of the leg, the doctor inserts a small pipe in the valves that need to be closed. As soon as the laser is introduced to these valves, they become closed. Then the leg is covered with long pressure socks.” According to Dr. Al-Qanwi some side-effects of this treatment are minor bruises, slight pain after treatment, and there are rare cases of temporary numbness. However, the plus point is that the time required for recovery is extremely short.
