Summer legs: veins vanish with new treatment

Do you have varicose veins?

I do, and often work on my feet, so wore medical-weight support hose for years. The black ones were OK- I wear black tights in fall/winter and you can't tell the difference.

But the 'flesh' toned ones were dreadful; if you want to be instantly morose, just tug them on. If I tried to go without, my legs would throb so painfully that I couldn't sleep.

I have friends who had the conventional surgery (vein stripping): pain, laid up for weeks, the bumply veins returned. Then I heard about EVLA (Endovenous Laser Ablation), a technique involving laser treatment delivered through a small catheter inserted in the culprit big vein.

Surgery was only mildly uncomfortable, like a dental tooth-cleaning, thanks to local anesthetic. I walked out of the The Vein Institute of Toronto feeling just fine- still encased in the atrocious support hose, but their days were numbered. (So if you get this done, you might want to wait till fall. You don't want that industrial elastic on in summer.)

My veins improved vastly, a gradual process over 5-6 months. It's like roadwork repair, expanding the new lanes and closing down the old. Cost: $3,000 for initial surgery and one post-surgery 'touch up' for remaining spider veins.

EVLA is surgery. I was informed about possible side effects like bruising; however, I had none. My legs are not perfect, they're like a person my age without noticeable varicosity.

But I can wear sandals, forgo stockings from spring through summer, and best of all, stand and walk without wincing.