If you’re like most, you might think that there’s nothing to be done about your swollen, painful legs. Treatments are either ineffective or require painful, invasive procedures.
That’s not the case with radiofrequency ablation.
Here, our team of specialists at Advanced Vascular Solutions in Sebastian, Florida walks you through exactly what to expect from radiofrequency ablation.
One of the first steps in making sure you’re comfortable during treatment is to make sure that you’re a candidate in the first place.
We recommend radiofrequency ablation to those who are experiencing leg pain as a result of varicose veins. Varicose veins occur when the valves in your veins malfunction and allow blood to pool. This can lead to significant swelling, enlarged veins, and ultimately great deals of pain.
To be a candidate you must also be in good health other than your leg pain. If you’re pregnant, we recommend that you wait to have radiofrequency ablation.
Every step of the way, your comfort is our top priority. Here’s a closer look at how the procedure works and the measures we’ve put in place to ensure your safety and comfort from start to finish.
Radiofrequency ablation is minimally invasive, so there’s not much preparation involved. But that doesn’t mean we don’t do our due diligence from the get-go to keep you relaxed and comfortable.
When you arrive, you lie down on an X-ray table. Once you’re at ease, your provider carefully injects a local anesthetic to numb the treatment area and make sure you don’t feel anything while we work.
Placing the needle is usually the part that worries folks the most. The thought of someone poking and re-poking your body can make even the sturdiest among us a bit uneasy. That’s why we turn to fluoroscopy.
Fluoroscopy is a special kind of X-ray. It uses a dye to illuminate the treatment area and give us real-time imaging of your veins, ensuring accurate placement the first time.
After we’ve placed the needle in your diseased vein, we gently feed the wire through and begin the process of ablating your painful varicose veins with powerful heat energy.
Many of our patients are most worried about what happens afterward when the anesthetic wears off. We’re happy to report that radiofrequency ablation doesn’t cause long-lasting side effects.
It’s possible to experience some mild discomfort at the injection site akin to a sunburn, but this is short-lived and easy to manage with cold compresses and/or over-the-counter pain relievers.
Radiofrequency ablation is an outpatient procedure; however, it’s best to have a trusted friend or family member drive you home and help you rest for a day or two after treatment. We also equip you with aftercare instructions to make the recovery process even easier. Often, that includes wearing compression socks to encourage healing and circulation.
Don’t spend another day walking around with leg pain. Find out if radiofrequency ablation is right for you by calling our friendly staff at 772-277-2964 or using our online booking tool.
