Varicose Veins Laser Treatment (EVLT) in Mumbai — by a Cardiovascular Surgeon

Patients often come to me embarrassed about their varicose veins, treating them as just a cosmetic nuisance. And sometimes they are only that. But those bulging, twisting veins are also a signal — a sign that the valves inside your leg veins have stopped doing their job. My approach is to look past the veins you can see, find where the real problem lies, and fix it at the source.

Here's the simple version of why they form. Your leg veins carry blood back up to the heart, working against gravity, with tiny one-way valves acting as doors that stop it draining back down. When those valves weaken and fail, blood leaks backwards and pools — and the vein swells, bulges, and twists into what you see on the surface.

Laser treatment for varicose veins is offered by several kinds of specialists these days. What I bring as a cardiovascular surgeon is that veins are my core expertise — I manage the whole venous problem, not just perform one procedure. That matters for you in three ways:

• The right diagnosis. I assess the entire venous system, including a detailed ultrasound map of exactly where the valves are failing, so the treatment addresses the true source — not just the veins you can see.
• The full range of treatments. If laser is the best choice, that's what you get. But if a vein needs a different approach, or the disease is more advanced, I can offer the complete spectrum of treatments under one roof.
• Expertise for complex cases. Advanced disease — with skin changes, ulcers, or recurrence after a previous treatment — is exactly the kind of case I'm trained to manage.

Most often they develop with age, as the vein valves gradually weaken and let blood flow backwards. Pregnancy is another common trigger — the growing uterus presses on the veins and hormones play a part; in most women these improve on their own within three to twelve months after delivery. Standing for long hours, a family history, and carrying extra weight all add to the risk too.

Varicose veins range from a purely cosmetic worry to a genuine source of discomfort. Common signs include:

• Veins that look blue or purple
• Veins that bulge or twist
• Aching legs, muscle cramps, and itching around the veins
• Less commonly, bleeding or hardening of the veins, skin discolouration, inflammation, or leg ulcers

This is where a proper vascular assessment earns its keep. Beyond looking at the visible veins, I use a venous duplex ultrasound to map the blood flow through your leg and pinpoint exactly which valves are leaking — a problem we call venous reflux. That map is what lets me plan a precise treatment aimed at the source of the reflux, not just the surface veins. Treating the source is the whole secret to a lasting result and a low chance of the veins coming back.

Mild varicose veins can often be managed simply — regular exercise, a healthy weight, and compression stockings. I recommend active treatment when those steps no longer ease the symptoms, when the discomfort is getting worse, or when complications like skin changes or ulcers start to appear.

Because I offer the full range, I can match the treatment to your veins rather than the other way around. Endovenous laser (EVLT) is the most widely used modern option, and depending on the case I may combine it with, or choose instead, other approaches — removing surface veins through tiny incisions, or injection treatments for smaller veins.

The most common worry I hear is: if you close a vein off, where does the blood go? It's a fair question, and the answer is reassuring.

So you're asked to walk immediately and can get back to day-to-day life the same day. Depending on how many veins are involved, treatment may be done over a few sessions. A small number of patients feel some temporary soreness or mild swelling, which settles within about four to five days and is easily eased with simple medication.

For most patients, EVLT has clear advantages over old-style vein surgery: no hospital stay, only a tiny incision, treatment under local anaesthesia, minimal scarring, little discomfort, and an immediate return to walking and daily life. And because it seals the faulty vein right at its source, it gives reliable, long-lasting relief with a low chance of recurrence — provided the underlying reflux has been properly found and treated.

EVLT is safe and well established, and serious complications are uncommon. Some patients get temporary bruising, soreness, mild swelling, or a feeling of tightness along the treated vein, which usually settles quickly. As with any vein procedure, there are small risks such as temporary numbness or, rarely, a clot — which is exactly why I believe this is best done by a vascular surgeon who can assess the whole venous system and manage any complication that arises.

Treated or not, a few simple habits keep leg veins healthy: stay active and walk regularly, keep a healthy weight, avoid long stretches of standing or sitting without moving, put your legs up when resting, and wear compression stockings if I've advised them. These reduce symptoms and lower the chance of new varicose veins forming.