What to do if you find your varicose veins returning

If you have had previous treatment whether by surgical or the more modern non surgical techniques and have noticed varicose veins returning, these are some of the things you may want to think about:

1. When was your last treatment? If it was 5 or more years ago, you may want to revisit you treating doctor as they may be new veins rather than recurring veins. We have a stringent process of follow up at our clinic to ensure no surprises down the track.
2. Are the new veins in the region of where the old veins were? If so this could either be recurrence or potentially new veins breaking down that are in and around the same vicinity. Best to get it looked at again or get a second opinion if they keep returning in the same region.
3. Has your doctor explained to you in detail what your vein condition is at the time of treatment and any veins that may be slowly breaking down. Sometimes on ultrasound, some veins may show features that they are slowly breaking down but have not yet. A wait and watch can be instituted in these cases especially if they are not showing any symptoms or signs. I usually inform patients at the time so we are both on the same page.
4. Are you someone that has had varicose veins since you were very young – Think teens, early twenties. You could be someone that creates abnormal veins regularly despite treatment. I have some of those patients but they are fully aware of it as it is well explained and more importantly I show them on ultrasound so we are in this together.
5. Surgical treatments are more prone to recurrence. It is not uncommon to find more patients who have had this in the past to have varicose veins returning.