TVC Varicose Vein Treatment Pathway - Varicose Tributary Treatment
It may be possible to avoid treatment to the tributaries if we are confident that they will shrivel spontaneously after truncal vein ablation, or if your treatment goals are functional rather than cosmetic. If tributary treatment is necessary we have 2 options:
Micro-Phlebectomies: following obliteration of the truncal vein, the varicose veins themselves are plucked out using specialised hooks via very small incisions. No stitches are required and micro-phlebectomy can usually be performed at the same time as truncal ablation, under local anaesthetic as an ambulatory patient.
Ultrasound-Guided Foam Sclerotherapy: may be preferred to micro-phlebectomy if the varicose veins are relatively small, if there are a lot of them or they are especially friable (thin-walled, fragile, usually recurrent veins).
We may recommend a combination of both treatments.
