What Student Need to Know about Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA) Therapy for Varicose Veins.

Endovenous laser varicose vein surgery is a procedure that uses heat from a laser to reduce varicose veins. Varicose veins are swollen, bulging veins that often happen on the thighs or calves. A laser is a device that sends a thin beam of radiation in the form of light. Laser surgery closes and shrinks the varicose vein and causes scar tissue within the vessel. This seals off the vein. Blood then flows through other nearby veins instead. By passing an electrical current through the catheter inside the vein heat is generated and temperatures of 120°C are attained. The heat produced destroys the vein but the procedure relies on direct contact between the catheter and the vein wall. To facilitate the process the vein needs to be as tightly wrapped around the catheter as possible so compression is applied to the vein using tumescent anesthesia and external compression and the leg is elevated to collapse the vein. There is an electrical feedback mechanism integrated into the fiber which can alter the energy del