Fiber Optic Technology

A combination of old age and genetics can cause a painful and downright ugly condition called varicose veins. Most of the treatments available to treat the problem are complicated procedures; so many people just grin and bear with their condition. But the six million varicose vein sufferers in Britain can now benefit from a new technique that sets varicose vein treatment on its head.

Skyrocketing Numbers

In the UK, some 100,000 people have varicose vein surgery every year. This number is expected to skyrocket as sufferers begin to explore the advantages of the new Trivax treatment. Trivax is minimally invasive and uses fiber optic technology to find and treat veins. The new treatment is inexpensive, fast, and not nearly as painful as the older techniques for treating varicosities.

Trivax was authorized for treatment by the United States government in 1999 but took awhile to come to Britain. British vascular surgeons are calling it the biggest medical advance since Fleming discovered penicillin. Dr. Gregory Spitz, who invented Trivax notes that the technique caused a rise in the numbers of U.S. varicose vein patients seeking the treatment.

Working Blind

The usual technique for stripping varicose veins goes back over more than 2,000 years ago. The old technique involves threading a wire through the vein, running it down the patient's leg, placing a hook on the other end, and stripping the vein from the inside. This technique leaves leftover odds and ends of vein and these have to be cut with many small incisions. The surgeon must work "blind," and unable to see these residual bits of vein sometimes or even often, ends up cutting in the wrong locations. These mistakes necessitate further operations to find and cut out the remaining vein parts.

Trivax was developed by the firm Smith and Nephew, which manufactures medical equipment. The Trivax technique involves the insertion of a fiber optic light just below the surface of the skin, so that surgeons have a clear view of the vein beneath the patient's flesh.

Stripping veins takes around two hours, but Trivax only takes around 40 minutes. Fewer incisions are made and the recovery time is much faster. There aren't very many known treatments for varicose veins. Varicose veins are caused by vein valves that fail, allowing the blood to flow backward to the leg instead of taking it to the heart. The standard non-surgical treatment involves pressure-stockings which can prevent the disease from progressing but not effect a cure.