Varicose Veins

If you have varicose veins and are unsure what to do about them you have come to the right place. Dr. Mountcastle specializes in treating veins and we have a highly trained ultrasound tech in the house so you can have your consultation and ultrasound the same day!

When you come to our office for a vein screening you will first meet with one of our nurses, they will go over your medical history and talk to you about the symptoms you are having. She will also go over the procedure Dr. Mountcastle preforms to shut down the veins that are causing you symptoms. Next, they will then have you change into a robe so we can take a look at your legs, they will also take pictures so we submit them to insurance. YES, these are covered by insurance, varicose veins are medically necessary and if you do not treat them they can cause major issues down the road. We will then take you to our ultrasound room to meet with our ultrasound tech. She will scan your legs and document measurements to verify the issues you are having are in fact because of varicose veins. Once she finishes her scan she will bring Dr. Mountcastle into the room to meet you and go over your results. After we have finalized your treatment plan we will submit to your insurance for approval, it can take 2-4 weeks to hear back from time. After we get approval from your insurance we will reach out to you and get you scheduled, typically can get you in the same week.

What does the procedure entail?

On the day of the procedure, you will want to drink plenty of water and try to cut back on the caffeine. One of our nurses will take you to your room and she will have you change into some loose-fitting shorts so we can get you prepped. The prepping consists of cleaning your leg with cleaning solution, draping you, and getting Dr. Mountcastle’s tools ready. The prep part takes longer than the actual procedure. The nurse will then grab Dr. Mountcastle and he will review with you what we are doing today. After he is gowned and has his sterile gloves on he will take the ultrasound probe to confirm nothing has changed since your first ultrasound. He will numb your leg with local anesthesia in the area he plans on making the small incision to insert the catheter, you may feel a little pressure once he inserts it but there should be no pain. He will make the incision either in your thigh, by your knee, or calf, everyone’s anatomy is different so the incision site may very. After he inserts the catheter he will fill your leg with numbing medicine, we call this the deep numbing. Since you will have a good amount of fluid in your leg you may feel it drip down your leg during the procedure but just remember it is the numbing medicine, not blood. After you are completely numb he will insert the laser to shut down the vein, this lasts about 1-2 minutes then you are done! The nurse will hold some pressure, clean you up, and wrap your leg in an ace wrap.

Post Care

You will leave the office in an ace wrap that you will keep on for 24 hours. The next morning you can remove it and take a shower. This is when you will put your compression stocking on for 12 hours during the day for 5 days. You are able to drive after your procedure and we encourage you to get back to normal activity. We ask that you wait 24 hours to exercise and nothing that puts a lot of strain on your legs. You will come back 2-7 days after your procedure for a quick follow up ultrasound to ensure the treatment worked.