Harvester, new varicose veins treatment

Board certified vascular surgeon Dr. Heshmat Majlessi is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and International College of Surgeons and the director of Park Avenue Vein Center.

He finished his surgical residency in NY Medical College. Following his training in open heart surgery and vascular surgery he came in contact with Professor George Fegan in England who was the father of non-surgical treatment of varicose veins. Since then he has confined his practice to varicose veins.

He has several inventions and patents under his name (all medical in nature); the latest one is for permanent varicose veins treatment.

Q. What attracted you to this field initially?

A. I received training as a vascular surgeon. For many years, the field of varicose veins was neglected. I chose this field 20 years ago. Recently many young doctors have been showing interest in this field.

Q. Can you please explain what varicose veins are?

A. There are hundreds of small superficial veins under the skin in the legs and thighs. These tiny veins become larger and sometimes twisted, mostly due to the pressure from so called leaks in different part of the legs (perforators) and result in varicose veins. These in turn produce many tiny spider veins which are not attractive.

Q. Why are varicose veins considered to be more than a cosmetic problem?

A. Varicose veins can cause pain, swelling, cramp, clots (phlebitis), ulcers and bleeding.

Q. The general belief is that varicose veins are limited to the legs. Could you tell us which organs are frequently affected by this syndrome?

A. Varicose veins are mainly seen in the legs but they can also develop in other parts of the body like the intestine (stomach, esophagus). Varicose veins of the rectum are called hemorrhoids.

Q. Why are women more prone to developing varicose veins?

A. Pregnancy is the most important cause of varicose veins; therefore women are affected about 5 times more than men.

Q. What are the major risk factors for developing varicose veins?

A. Pregnancy, family history, weight, being on the feet for long periods of time and possibly hormones like progesterone.

Q. What happens if a person does not seek treatment for the syndrome?

A. As I mentioned before, it will result in several medical complications. All the pain and swelling disappears after treatment. Getting rid of the unpleasant looking veins is also very important for many patients.

Q. What are the available treatment methods?

A. In the old treatment which is still practiced today, the doctor makes numerous incisions over the veins and removes them under anesthesia.

Another technique which has become common over the past five years is to use laser or a hot wire to burn the saphenous vein in the thigh (electrofrequency).

The Harvester technique which uses my device is the latest development in this field. It is intended to permanently eliminate varicose veins and even spiders by closing ALL responsible leaks. The method has resulted in a near perfect leg in 99% of the patients.

Q. Could you tell us more about your treatment method?

A. The patented Harvester technique is a 15 minutes local procedure which completely eliminates the large leaks responsible for the varicose veins and spiders.

The procedure does not require any major anesthesia or disability. Patients can immediately fly back to their country of origin after the treatment. They will need a couple more visits to treat all the tiny leftover veins and spiders.

Q. What are the advantages of the Harvesting technique over regular treatments?

A. Lack of severe pain and disability, no need for major anesthesia and excellent cosmetic outcome.

Q. What are the complications of this method?

A. The common side effect is slight bruising in the inner thigh which disappears after a few days. We have not had any reported infections or bleeding.

Q. What is its prognosis?

A. The present varicose veins disappear permanently in all patients. We recommend the patients to follow up every couple of years in order to treat any developed tiny veins or spiders before they become bigger.

Q. Are there any criteria for selecting the patients who benefit most from this method? What are the success rate predicting factors?

A. All patients with superficial varicose veins are candidates for Harvester technique. The only exceptions are patients taking blood thinner coumadin.

Q. How many patients have benefited from this therapy so far?

A. Over 1500 patients

Q. What were some of the most rewarding and/or challenging moments you experienced in this project?

A. For me seeing a patient's reaction after the operation is the most rewarding moment. Many of them have had pain, swelling and cramps for years thinking it is normal to have these symptoms.

Source:www.presstv.ir