Varicose Vein Treatment

 The Patient

 Ms. feraye kılıç, a patient of Prof. Levent Oguzkurt, explains how undergoing interventional radiology (IR) treatment for varicose veins made a real difference to her life:

 

 “After my second pregnancy, unsightly varicose veins appeared on my left leg and got larger and larger over the last three years. The appearance was only one part of the problem. In my right leg, there was mild pain and heaviness. My left leg became heavier with walking and I had pain and got easily tired after walking for 10-15 minutes. I also started to experience cramps in my calf muscles which usually occurred during the night. At times, the numbness and pain extended to my left foot.

 

 “I wanted to have my legs treated. The vascular surgeon that I visited recommended surgical removal of the varicose veins and the vein that caused it, but I had doubts over surgery as I had heard that the recurrence of varicose veins was high.

 

“I heard about the laser procedure and was examined. My doctor, an interventional radiologist, performed the ultrasound examination himself and told me that I had insufficie ncy of the left great saphenous vein and both small sa phe nous veins. He suggested laser ablation of the incompetent saphenous veins and sclerotherapy for varicose veins.

 

 “The procedure was done using intravenous pain medi - ca tion with a nerve blockade and lasted about an hour. It was very comfortable and I did not feel any pain or discomfort during the procedure. I could walk about 30 minutes after the operation and went about my usual daily routine. The area of laser ablation caused some mild pain for the next week but I was comfortable after using some pain medication.

 

 

 “My life really changed after the laser procedure. Now I am pain-free and I feel happier and much more energetic!”