How Long Does it Take for Varicose Veins to Disappear After Laser Treatment? And Other FAQs

Endovenous laser treatment, also known as endovenous laser ablation, is one of the most effective varicose vein treatments. During this procedure, the vein doctor channels laser energy into the diseased saphenous vein responsible for your vein problems. The diseased vein is destroyed, and the accumulated blood reroutes into healthier leg veins, restoring optimal blood circulation to the heart. Endovenous laser ablation treats the root cause of varicose veins and makes the superficial varicose veins shrink and turn into scar tissues.

You should start noticing improvements after one week, with continued improvements for several weeks and months. The unhealthy varicose veins will gradually get metabolized by the body, following which they will disappear from your skin’s surface. The specific longevity of the results depends on how quickly your body metabolizes the unhealthy varicose veins after the treatment. Larger varicose veins may fade away after 3 months or more, but small spider veins may fade away within 3 weeks.

If you want to eliminate the superficial varicose veins immediately after endovenous laser treatment, you can opt for ambulatory phlebectomy (a cosmetic treatment for varicose veins). After the primary vein treatment, the vein doctor can perform an ambulatory phlebectomy to remove your superficial varicose veins. During ambulatory phlebectomy, the vein doctor makes small incisions on the skin’s surface to physically extract the varicose veins. The incision marks will heal and gradually fade away from the skin.

Endovenous laser ablation has a nearly perfect — 98% — success rate. Once the varicose veins are treated successfully, they can’t return. Some patients may develop new varicose veins after a few years, but the risk of vein disease recurrence is minimal.

You should wear compression stockings for at least four weeks after your endovenous laser treatment in New York. Compression stockings apply pressure on your leg veins and prevent blood from accumulating in the legs, which can minimize the risk of vein disease recurrence.

Varicose veins don’t go away naturally. The only way to remove or eliminate varicose veins is through minimally invasive vein treatments, such as endovenous laser ablation. If you don’t seek vein treatment, the varicose veins will continue dilating and expanding, leading to increased complications of vein disease.

Sclerotherapy is considered one of the most effective treatments for spider veins. Sclerotherapy involves injecting a sclerosant medicine into spider veins to turn them into hardened scar tissues eventually metabolized by the body. You need to wear compression stockings after sclerotherapy to prevent blood from pooling in your leg veins. If you don’t wear compression stockings, you have a higher risk of side effects and vein disease recurrence.

There are no definitive means of preventing the recurrence of varicose veins. Endovenous laser ablation has a minimal risk of vein disease recurrence, but the risk can’t be eliminated completely. You can, however, make some lifestyle changes to minimize the risk of vein disease recurrence, such as wearing compression stockings, exercising regularly, walking frequently, and elevating your legs above your heart’s level while sitting down.