By KEVIN CHIRI

Editor and Publisher

LAPLACE -A new procedure being offered at River Parishes Hospital (RPH) now offers people with varicose vein problems new hope for pain relief, as well as a chance for an improved appearance for their legs.

Dr. Brad Thompson is now conducting Endovenous Laser Therapy through RPH, which the vascular surgeon claims is a new state-of-the-art approach to give patients who have varicose vein problems great relief.

“Many people think varicose veins are just about the appearance of the spider veins you see showing in the legs. But varicose veins can be a very painful condition,” he said. “Our new procedure has shown great results in giving relief to people with this problem.”

Thompson said that varicose veins are a result from a lack of circulation in the legs, where blood essentially sits in the veins, rather than circulating throughout the body. The pressure in the veins causes them to begin to expand and show up on the outside of the skin.

The smaller problems result in the spider veins seen on the legs, while more severe cases see veins actually bulging out from the skin.

“It can get very painful in those conditions,” Thompson added. “The first approach to the condition is to have the patient wear a compression stocking, but if that doesn’t work, we used to have to resort to actual surgery.”

The new procedure is non-invasive, done in an out-patient setting, and has the patient back to normal activity by the next day.

The new procedure is mostly used for people with serious problems from swelling, but can also improve the spider vein appearance, along with other treatments that include injections into the veins.

“In the past, when a vein got really large, we just had to go in and actually remove it,” Thompson explained. “That was still painful to deal with, but now we have a procedure where we don’t have to do surgery at all, and we can keep all the veins there.’

Thompson said the varicose vein condition is found mostly in women, but also can be in men who stand a lot in their jobs without moving. For that matter, anyone who is on their feet a lot, especially jobs such as cashiers where there is little opportunity to walk around much, can lead to the problem.

“I recently performed the procedure on a man in his 40s, and he has had great relief,” Thompson said.