McKeown Medical
167 Bath Street, Glasgow, G2 4SQ
Date posted — 2.10.24
If you’re struggling with the discomfort, swelling, or unsightly appearance of varicose veins, Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA) could be the solution you’ve been looking for. This minimally invasive procedure uses radiofrequency energy to target and close off problematic veins, providing long-lasting relief with less discomfort and downtime than traditional surgery.
In this guide, we’ll explore everything you need to know about RFA – from how it works to what you can expect during the procedure, what the recovery is, and the benefits it offers over other treatment options and the benefits some newer treatments like VenaSeal™ might have over RFA. Ultimately, there are lots of choices when it comes to treating varicose veins.
Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA) is a minimally invasive medical procedure used to treat varicose veins by using radiofrequency energy to heat and close off the affected veins. It is part of a group of techniques referred to as ‘endovascular’ procedures because they involve operating inside the vein, rather than outside of it in the traditional approach. Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) involves inserting a small catheter into the vein, where radiofrequency energy is delivered, causing the vein walls to contract, collapse, and eventually be absorbed by the body.
RFA was introduced in the late 1990s and early 2000s as an alternative to more invasive surgical treatments like vein stripping. Around the same time, another option known as endovenous laser ablation (EVLA) was also developed.
Endovenous laser ablation (EVLA) employs a very similar technique by delivering heat to destroy the inside of the problematic blood vessels although it uses laser energy to deliver the heat. Both RFA and EVLA are similarly very effective, although RFA is associated with fewer side effects and is generally considered to be the superior method.
Dr Alex Vesey is our expert consultant vascular surgeon who heads up our varicose vein team. Listen to him explain the Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA) treatment.
Before: Before the procedure, you’ll first have a consultation with a specialist vascular surgeon who will assess your varicose veins from taking a medical history, performing a thorough examination and an ultrasound scan to assess the anatomy of your veins. This helps determine the best veins to treat and ensures that RFA is the right option for you. On the day of the procedure, you’ll be asked to wear loose-fitting clothing and underwear that you don’t mind getting antiseptic on. You will be asked to sign an informed consent form before you go into the treatment room (a copy of this will be emailed to you in advance so you have plenty of time to read before you sign).
During: The procedure begins with the patient lying down on the treatment table and the affected leg is then cleaned and sterile drapes are applied. The doctor then makes a small incision near the knee or lower leg to insert a thin catheter into the problematic vein, guided by ultrasound imaging for precise placement. The doctor then injects a high volume of dilute anaesthetic – known as tumescent anaesthetic – along the length of the vein to be treated. As well as providing anaesthesia, this also helps to absorb the heat that is delivered to the vein during the procedure and reduces the chances of injuring surrounding tissues, like nerves. The catheter position is then rechecked and radiofrequency energy is delivered through the catheter, heating the vein walls and causing them to collapse and seal shut. This process is repeated along the length of the vein, effectively closing it off. The procedure typically takes about 30 to 60 minutes.
After: After the RFA procedure, a compression bandage or stocking is applied to the treated leg to help reduce swelling and promote healing. Most patients can stand up and walk immediately after the procedure, which is encouraged to help circulation. You may experience some discomfort, bruising, or swelling, but these symptoms usually subside within a few days. It’s generally recommended to avoid strenuous activities for about a week, but most people can return to their normal routines within a day or two. We will arrange to see you back in the clinic to assess the results, typically a few months after treatment since this is how long it takes for the veins to be reabsorbed by the body and for us to be able to assess the outcome.
Endovascular treatment with Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA) offers significant benefits over traditional surgery for treating varicose veins.
One of the main advantages is its minimally invasive nature, which involves only a small incision and causes far less trauma to the surrounding tissues compared to traditional vein stripping surgery. This leads to a quicker recovery time, allowing patients to return to their normal activities, often within a day or two, as opposed to the longer downtime required after surgery. RFA also typically results in less pain, bruising, and scarring which improves patient satisfaction both during and after the procedure.
Additionally, because RFA uses radiofrequency energy to precisely target and close off the affected veins, it reduces the risk of complications such as nerve damage, which can be more common in traditional surgical approaches. Not everyone is suitable for RFA – which is why your initial consultation and ultrasound scan assessment is so important, to make sure you get the best treatment option for your particular condition.
VenaSeal™ is a more recent innovative and effective option for the endovascular treatment of varicose veins, gaining FDA approval in 2015. VenaSeal™ uses a medical adhesive instead of heat to close off problematic veins.
The procedure involves inserting a small catheter into the vein and applying the adhesive, which bonds the vein walls together, causing the vein to seal shut and be gradually absorbed by the body. Compared to RFA, VenaSeal™ offers several advantages: it requires no heat or tumescent anaesthetic injections, which can reduce discomfort and eliminate the need for compression stockings after the procedure.
Additionally, VenaSeal™ has an even quicker recovery time – often allowing patients to resume normal activities almost immediately. While RFA remains a highly effective treatment with a proven track record, VenaSeal™ offers the same levels of effectiveness with less pain, inconvenience and downtime which is why it now accounts for around 50% of varicose vein treatment in the USA.
We are the first clinic in Scotland to introduce what is now considered to be the gold standard treatment for varicose veins.
If you’d like to find out if Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA) is the right treatment for you, the first step is to fill out our online consultation form. From there, our team will be able to arrange an initial consultation and ultrasound scan and we can work together to create a treatment plan that is tailored to your needs.
Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) and endovenous laser ablation (EVLA) are two minimally invasive treatments used to effectively treat varicose veins, but...
When it comes to treating varicose veins, VenaSeal™ has emerged as a revolutionary option that offers a minimally invasive and...
Varicose veins are enlarged, twisted veins that often appear just under the skin, primarily in the legs and feet.
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Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) and endovenous laser ablation (EVLA) are two minimally invasive treatments used to effectively treat varicose veins, but...
When it comes to treating varicose veins, VenaSeal™ has emerged as a revolutionary option that offers a minimally invasive and...
Varicose veins are enlarged, twisted veins that often appear just under the skin, primarily in the legs and feet.
Laser season continues and I thought you might like to see behind the scenes of a full field laser resurfacing treatment.
This is our wonderful patient Carol who kindly allowed us to film her procedure from start to finish. Carol is pretty typical of patients we treat with this procedure - she`s a former smoker who has also spent a lot of time in the sun as well as using sunbeds, so she`s picked up quite a lot of skin damage over the years.
I treated her full face, with particular focus on the lines around her lips, and she is absolutely over the moon with her results! Watch for Carol`s full procedure and an insight into the recovery process.
If you`re thinking about getting a laser treatment, now is the time to do it while the days are darker and social calendars are still a bit quieter. Send us a message if you`d like to find out if you`d be suitable for this treatment.
Thank you to our delightful patient who had full field laser resurfacing just before Christmas.
She was especially bothered by some deeper lines and wrinkles on her cheeks, around her mouth and under eyes. She also wanted some general skin tightening. I just saw her back in the clinic this week for a follow up and she is already over the moon with her results. She still has a little pinkness, but just look at that youthful glow!
What do you think?
We`re often asked about threads in the clinic and why we don`t offer them. Here`s our Medical Director Dr Rhona explaining what threads are, why we don`t use them, and why fillers are a much more reliable option for people looking for non-surgical rejuvenation.
Before anyone says "Ah, but I don`t want a big fat face" - Dr Rhona has filler in pretty much every part of her own face, and I think we can agree she does not have a fat face! The key to non-surgical rejuvenation is addressing the anatomy, not following the trends!
What do you think?
#threads #dermalfiller #threadsvsfillers
The power of the chin! Improving a recessed chin with some filler is one of the most effective ways of reducing the appearance of jowls, without surgery.
This is an example of one of Dr Rhona`s patients who had this done recently.
The patient was delighted with the result. What do you think?
#fillers #chinfiller #jowls #nonsurgical
As most of you will know, I’ve been campaigning for years for regulation of aesthetic procedures in Scotland. It’s something that I feel extremely passionate about. There are too many people in this country who are harmed from cosmetic procedures and the government has chosen to look the other way.
The government have finally agreed to bring in regulations, but in my view, they are too little too late and I’ve been writing about it in the Herald this morning (read the article at the link in my bio) and talking about it on BBC Radio Scotland`s Good Morning Scotland (you can listen here and on BBC Sounds).
The proposed regulations will make a list of procedures medic only, but they have proposed to allow beauticians to keep injecting fillers in ‘Group 2`. This is the wrong approach and is all to do with politics, rather than patient safety. Filler injections are more invasive and more high risk than most of the procedures they are making medic only and its very clear fillers belong in Group 3, medic only.
There is a consultation on the regulations live right now and I would urge all of our patients and followers to fill it in, pointing out the discrepancy of allowing beauticians to carry on doing fillers whilst banning them from much more benign procedures like PRP. This needs to be about patient safety, not politics.
You can fill out a response to the consultation at the link in my bio.
Thank you!
(To all of our international followers struggling to get their head around this, in the UK we have a situation where yone - with no training and no regulation - can set up shop offering cosmetic procedures. We are campaigning to bring Scotland in line with every other country and ban this practice!)
We are all absolutely over the moon for our incredible patient who has achieved an incredible skin transformation to kick off the new year with!
The patient underwent full field skin resurfacing, which has dramatically transformed her skin. Look at how much tighter the skin on her cheeks and under eyes look - and how much improvement we achieved in reducing the lines and wrinkles.
We`ve been doing this treatment for a couple of years now and we have managed to refine our protocols to have most of our patients healed within 7-10 days now. It still takes months for the skin to get fully back to normal, but by day 10 most patients are now comfortable getting out and about with a bit of make up.
January and February are some of the most popular months of the year to do this treatment, whilst its still dark outside and social lives are quiet.
As the year draws to a close, I want to say a huge thank you to all of our patients who have allowed us to share their photos with you this year.
It takes a lot of courage for our patients to share what is a very personal choice but without that generosity we would not be able to illustrate to the world just what`s possible.
So thank you to every one of you.... here`s to 2025 and lots more incredible patient journeys in our new home! Happy New Year everyone ❤️
Twas the night before Christmas… when McKeown Medical was shut and the McKeowns were spending Christmas in the snow! ⛄️
What a year it’s been with the opening of our new luxury clinic on Bath Street, the launch of new services in the clinic and continuing to grow and develop our existing offering. We have so much more planned for the next twelve months that I can’t wait to tell you about, but for now it’s time for some family time.
I hope every one of our patients and supporters has the most wonderful festive period filled with family, love and lots of food!
Merry Christmas one and all 🎅🏻🎄
Another life changing result for one of our patients.
This patient`s main concern was the static lines etched into her skin around her mouth, so we opted for full field resurfacing.
She is just a month out from treatment and still has a little background redness but already very happy with where things are heading. What do you think?