Varicose vein treatment at Spire Yale Hospital

Spire Yale Hospital provides comprehensive private hospital care to our patients across Wrexham and the surrounding region including Wales, Cheshire and Shropshire.

If varicose veins are causing you pain or complications, or you’d like them removed for cosmetic reasons, we have a choice of consultants who can provide a treatment that’s personalised to your needs.

We offer fast access to consultations and treatments, in a clean, comfortable environment.

We offer a variety of treatments for varicose veins. Treatment choices available to you will depend on the type of varicose veins you have, what you’d like to achieve and your general health. Your consultant will discuss which treatment is best for you at your initial appointment.

The following procedure uses ultrasound imaging to guide your consultant when positioning the injection or catheter (a thin tube through which smaller instruments can be inserted):

• Endovenous laser ablation (EVLA) – a tiny laser inside a catheter is inserted into the affected vein which emits bursts of energy to heat and seal the vein

We also offer:

• Hook phlebectomy or microphlebectomy – small incisions are made close to the vein and a hook-shaped instrument is used to remove the affected veins through the incisions
• Ligation and stripping – a surgical procedure to remove the veins

Every treatment has its own benefits and risks which your consultant will explain to you during your consultation.

Coming into hospital

The hospital is a few minutes by taxi from Wrexham General and Wrexham Central stations, and approximately 25 minutes by taxi from Chester station. There’s free parking available for you and your visitors.

Meeting your consultant

Your appointment will take place in one of our consultation rooms. Your consultant will discuss:

• Your symptoms or reasons for wanting treatment
• Your general health and medical history
• If they recommend any additional tests or scans to help plan your treatment
• Your treatment and recovery plan
• What the treatment involves, along with potential benefits and risks
• The anaesthetic you’ll require

You may also need a pre-operative assessment before going ahead with treatment. This is to ensure you're fit and well enough for surgery.

On the day

One of our nurses and your consultant will meet you on arrival and get you prepared for your treatment. You’ll then be taken to an operating theatre or outpatient treatment room.

Where you’ll be treated depends on what treatment you’re having and what kind of anaesthetic you’ll need.

The procedure will take between 30 minutes to an hour but may be longer if you’re having a lot of veins and/or both legs treated.

Anaesthetic

The anaesthetic required varies depending on the procedure you’re having and your overall health. Most procedures are performed using local anaesthetic (so the area being treated will be numb). However, sometimes it may be necessary to have a general anaesthetic, for instance it’s often needed for ligation and stripping which is a surgical procedure for treating varicose veins.

After treatment

You can usually go home around four hours after your procedure. You’ll be taken to relax in our outpatient department or private room (for day case procedures) before going home when you’re ready.

However, you may require an overnight stay, particularly if you’ve had a general anaesthetic. If so, you’ll have your own en-suite room which will have:

• TV
• En-suite
• Armchair
• Window

After you leave hospital, you may need to take some time off work while you recover. However, most people can carry on with their normal routine without any problems. Your consultant will advise you on what’s best, including whether you should wear compression stockings and for how long.

We’ll arrange a follow-up appointment two weeks after your procedure to check that you're recovering as expected and assess how the treatment went.

Here’s a typical recovery timeline, although you should always follow your consultant’s advice and bear in mind that everybody is different: