Which treatment is best for varicose veins besides surgery?

Depends: Mainstays of treatment are exercise, periodic leg elevation, compression stockings, skin moisturizer, and attaining ideal body weight. Surgery these days is minimally invasive; an outpatient procedure called vein ablation has replaced vein stripping. Usually, if the veins are painful or if you have leg swelling or skin damage or have had clots, it makes sense to have an ultrasound evaluation.

Varicose Veins: Surgery is considered old-fashioned and is no longer the best treatment for varicose veins. We now have excellent minimally invasive, in-office procedures, performed under local anesthesia, with minimal downtime or discomfort. These are known as laser closure or laser ablation. Look for an experienced vein specialist or vein treatment center who can walk you through the process from start to end.

It depends on...: Etiology, location and anatomy. I agree with dr. Pak's answer, but the mainstay of definitive treatment of lower extremity varicosities is currently endovenous ablation to treat an underlying source of reflux when identified. This can be followed by ambulatory phlebectomy/sclerotherapy to treat remaining varicosities. Ultrasound evaluation needs to be performed early: dont wait for skin changes!

Laser ablation: Works well for venous insufficiency and varicose veins.

A number of choices: As was mentioned, start with a vein specialist. A venous ultrasound of your leg veins should be done to find the cause of your varicose veins and make a treatment recommendation. A treatment option that helps symptoms but doesn't make the veins go away is compression stockings. Other more definitive options include laser or radiofrequency ablation, ambulatory phlebectomy, and/or sclerotherapy.

Varicose Veins: There is not really a single "best" treatment, as treatments are tailored to your specific anatomy. Ultrasound is needed. The most common "non-surgery" treatments are compression stockings, endovenous thermal ablation, or sclerotherapy. Often a combination of therapies is needed. Vascular surgeons are considered the "vein experts" as they can offer all possible treatment options.

See a vein doctor.: Varicose veins are usually due to malfunctioning valves is the saphenous veins. This can be diagnosed by a venous reflux ultrasound. You should see a vascular surgeon or a vein specialist. The gold standard for varicose vein treatment is to seal the leaking valves with a laser or radio frequency catheter.

Varicose veins: Treatment is dependent on the cause Larger varicose veins if the result of valve reflux can be treated with thermal ablation Small spider veins by sclerotherapy