I am Pregnant - Can i have varicose vein treatment?

{\rtf1\ansi\ansicpg1252\cocoartf1038\cocoasubrtf360 {\fonttbl\f0\fswiss\fcharset0 Helvetica;} {\colortbl;\red255\green255\blue255;} \pard\tx560\tx1120\tx1680\tx2240\tx2800\tx3360\tx3920\tx4480\tx5040\tx5600\tx6160\tx6720\ql\qnatural\pardirnatural \f0\fs24 \cf0 Recently I met Lucy who during pregnancy developed very uncomfortable varicose veins. She asked me whether she could have her veins treated whilst she was still pregnant. Well, I'm going to tell you my answer and the reasons for my decision. Most vascular specialists will not treat varicose veins during pregnancy and there are 4 really good reasons why this is the case. The 1st reason for not treating varicose veins during pregnancy is that the risks of deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism are increased during pregnancy. Doing a vein procedure during pregnancy adds to that risk and although these complications are low in non-pregnant women they are more frequent in pregnant women. We don't know the precise figures for this complication rate but for this reason it is very unwise to treat women during pregnancy. The 2nd reason for not treating varicose veins during pregnancy is that they tend to regress and get better of their own accord once the baby has been delivered. After delivery the varicose veins are much smaller and they are much easier to treat. So most vascular surgeons would wait until you've had your baby before treating your veins as the treatment is going to be less extensive. The 3rd reason for not treating varicose veins during pregnancy is that during pregnancy there are a number of hormonal changes that increase the vascularity of the legs and promote a process called neovascularisation. Any vein treatment can be complicated by the appearance of new thread veins and this risk is increased during pregnancy. So treating veins during pregnancy runs the risk of causing more and extensive thread veins on the legs which may be quite unsightly. The 4th and last reason for not treating veins during pregnancy is that there is of course a risk to the baby. All doctors like to avoid injecting chemicals or drugs into the mother during pregnancy as it may be a risk to the developing baby. Now there is no evidence that local anaesthetics radiofrequency ablation or laser treatment cause any problems to the developing baby but it is a risk that most mothers would not wish to run. Recently I met Lucy and she developed some very uncomfortable and unsightly veins at the back of right knee during pregnancy. They were extending up the back of her right thigh and were coming from some nasty vulval varicose veins in her groin. They were so uncomfortable that she pleaded with me to have them treated during pregnancy. When I explained to her the reasons for not doing so she managed during the pregnancy with compression hosiery watching her weight eating a good diet with lots of fibre avoiding standing for long periods and avoiding constipation and straining. Once she had her baby I was able to treat her successfully and her veins have never recurred since. Thank you for watching this video. Please do subscribe by clicking on the button up here. That way, you will be able to be amongst the 1st to receive news about new videos and you'll be updated with news from my channel. Thank you for watching this video.}