EL PASO - With the snap of a glove Dr. Pester was ready to get rid of Ana Valdez' varicose veins that had been causing her problems for six months -- on her lunch break.
“I’ve been experiencing a lot of heaviness and aching, especially during the day and at the end of the day,” says Ana.
Ana says her job requires her to be on her feet all day and as a working mother, she doesn't have time to sit around recuperating in bed.
“Knowing that this procedure can be done in an outpatient services, no down time, I don't have to be out of work, just go back to work right now. That's great,” says Ana.
Varicose veins are either swollen or twisted veins that are filled with too much blood. Half of all Americans over the age of 50 have varicose veins and the causes are more common than you'd think.
“If you have propensity to develop varicose veins and you have a standing or a sitting job proportionately the chance that you will have significant veins goes way up,” says Dr. Pester.
Until recently the surgery was a big deal.
“In the old days we did vein strippings where the vein was actually cut, tied and actually pulled out of the body,” says Dr. Pester.
We won't show you what that looked like because Dr. Pester pioneered a catheter procedure that uses radio frequency to get rid of varicose veins in a quick minimally invasive way.
“After the vein was cleared of blood then we turned the radio frequency energy on and that obliterated the inside of the vein by coagulating the protein and now over the next four to eight weeks that vein will scar shut,” says Dr. Pester.
Now that the last step if finished Ana is happy about how well it went.
“No, it's simple very minimal. I'm so excited it didn't hurt,” says Ana.
After the procedure Ana is already back on her feet and headed back to work.
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