One of the most frequently asked questions by my patients is if they can exercise after their vein procedure. The truth is, we don’t know if it’s okay to exercise after radiofrequency ablation (RFA), endovenous laser ablatoin (EVLT), or sclerotherapy because no study has been done comparing the two. The short answer (or suggestion) to…

Health insurance is complicated and when it comes to vein treatment it can be even more complicated. Different insurance policies have different rules on what they cover and some insurance companies can be inconsistent. My staff spends a lot of time working with insurance companies getting authorizations, eligibility verifications, and filing claims. It’s a lot…

Does diet and health affect varicose veins? There are many different factors that can cause varicose veins such as heredity, pregnancy, gender, age, injury, trauma to the veins, and prolonged standing. While it can be difficult to impossible to control these factors, diet and lifestyle are a few of the factors we do have control…

Sometimes patients ask me if a cosmetic med spa is a good place to go to treat their spider veins and varicose veins. Is a medical spa as safe and effective as going to a boring doctor’s office? Personally, I think this is a good question. Med spas are very popular these days, and many of…

Is exercise for varicose veins a good idea? This is an interesting question as some think that exercise can cause varicose veins and some think it can prevent them. Both answers are correct. There are many different factors that can cause varicose veins such as heredity, pregnancy, gender, age, prolonged standing, and injury or trauma…

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) finds that 1 in every 3 Americans is obese or overweight. Obesity contributes to major diseases including diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure. Excess body fat is also a leading factor in developing varicose veins. Obesity puts extra pressure on the leg veins and their valves. This makes…

Patients often ask me which of the two vein ablation procedures are better: radiofrequency ablation (RFA) vs. endovenous laser ablation or endovenous laser therapy (EVLA or EVLT). It’s a good question but the answer depends. Endovenous Laser Ablation (EVLT or EVLA) The laser filament uses a heating element which is quite variable. Laser devices have…

I often get questions from pregnant patients asking about the best approach for treating varicose veins and spider veins. Varicose veins often get worse during pregnancy and patients want to know if they should get vein treatments during or after they are pregnant. Many factors, such as hormone fluctuations, weight gain, increased blood volume, and the…

Many patients come to my office after already having researched sclerotherapy on the internet. There is a lot of mention about different solutions for sclerotherapy. There are many different names and it can get confusing. One of the questions patients often ask me is, “Which solution do you use for sclerotherapy?” There are basically three…

If you have checked out the San Francisco Vein Center’s website, you may already know the full range of surgical treatments for vein disease.  You may also have learned about the non-surgical option of compression stockings or varicose vein socks, which are an extremely effective way to hold the disease at bay as well improve…