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If you are contemplating varicose vein treatment, you may be trying to find the best varicose vein treatment clinic you can find. You may also be trying to figure out how to evaluate these clinics and which one will best suit your purposes specifically.
What Is Your Primary Goal: Cosmetic or Medical?
Are you looking for cosmetic varicose vein treatment on spider veins that are not causing any symptoms…. or do you have significant leg discomfort due to varicose veins, i.e. a medical need for varicose vein treatment. Some vein clinics specialize in cosmetic procedures. This does not mean they are not trained to address the medical side of varicose veins, but if they don’t specialize in more serious cases, they may not be your best choice if you have a serious medical need for varicose vein treatment.
Check Out the Expertise of the Clinic
Ideally, you want several board certified phlebologists working at the varicose vein treatment center you select. For a doctor to achieve this certification, he or she must receive significant training BEYOND the basic training they receive in medical school. In other words, they are specialists in their field. If a varicose vein treatment center has multiple vein doctors on staff, they are able to confer with one another and learn from each other. They may each have their own subspecialties too and refer patients to each other within the same center.
How Many Types of Varicose Vein Treatment Procedures Do They Perform?
This is a really important tip on how to select the best varicose vein treatment clinic. With most varicose vein situations, there will be more than one type of procedure that could be used to treat that condition. However, it’s also true that in most of these cases, there will be reasons why one procedure may be better than the other. The doctor, in consultation with you, must weigh these factors and make a decision.
Deciding which procedure to perform may involve which specific varicose vein(s) are involved, the exact location of the varicosity, or a something specific to the patient. For example, whether a varicose vein is relatively straight versus tortured (twisted out of shape) may make one procedure better than another. A patient’s pain threshold may also be a consideration. Cost may even be a factor.
Thus, it’s to your advantage to be treated by a varicose vein treatment clinic that does a wide variety of procedures so the doctor is not limited in the options they can offer you. You don’t want their advice to be influenced by any limitations on the scope of procedures done in that clinic. You want their best recommendation for you based on all known procedures.
Insurance Concerns
Every insurance company has their own rules about the documentation they want to see before they’ll approve payment on a varicose vein treatment. Therefore, it is to your advantage if the clinic you select has prior experience in dealing with your insurance company. You’ll also want to specifically ask a potential clinic (and doctor) how exactly they plan to document your case to get you approved for payment. While it may seem that money should not be a factor in the treatment you receive, for practical purposes, it sometimes is unfortunately so you’ll want to choose a clinic that is good at dealing with your insurance company, unless you plan to pay out of pocket.
The Closest Varicose Vein Clinic Is Not Always the Best Choice
Depending on where you live, your options for a varicose vein treatment clinic may be limited. If this is true, you may want to consider traveling to an area with more options. For example, if you have family or a good friend who lives in more populated geographic area than you, and you would feel comfortable staying with them a few days, consider checking out the varicose vein centers in that area in addition to those close to home.
Here’s another option that may be appealing to you. Consider finding the best varicose vein treatment center you can find and then take a mini vacation to the city where they are located. In almost all cases, minimally invasive varicose vein treatment, like sclerotherapy and EVLT, will not leave you in much pain. Further, you will not be put on bed rest. In fact, you are almost always instructed to walk as much as possible the same day as the procedure and for several days after. Exploring a new city may be a fun way to get in your walking! You may also want to treat yourself to a luxury hotel room!
Check Online Reviews
It’s always a good idea to do your due diligence and read the online reviews for any varicose vein treatment clinic you are considering. While you’ll certainly want to take any negative reviews with a “grain of salt,” you can usually get insights into a potential clinic from these reviews, especially if there are a great number of them. You can also check out the online reviews of the specific vein doctors at the clinic(s) you are considering.
Check Them Out In Person Before You Make a Final Decision
Most reputable varicose vein treatment clinics will offer a free consultation. For example, Metro Vein Centers offers a free evaluation. In fact, they do not even require a referral, although doctors do refer patient to Metro Vein Centers frequently. You can simply call for an appointment yourself. If a clinic you are considering does not offer an opportunity to go in for a free initial consultation, this may be a bad sign.
On your initial visit, you can learn a lot, starting with how the receptionist treats you when you call. You’ll get a good idea of how the office is run, how you interact with staff, and most importantly, how you “click” with the doctor. You’ll also want to access of course how knowledgeable he or she seems to be about your specific situation. Bottom line, you’ll want to have confidence in the vein doctor and varicose vein treatment clinic you choose.
Good luck with your quest and treatment.
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