In the U.K., U.S. and even Russia, a range of non-surgical techniques are the recommended first option, says Dooner, formerly the chief of surgery for Vancouver Island Health Authority. These entail using ultrasound imaging to guide a probe through a small cut in the skin to the inside of veins that are no longer doing their job. They are then disabled with heat, a caustic fluid, foam or glue.
But across Canada, provinces have left the treatment of varicose veins to private clinics by limiting hospital-based treatment to surgery, usually called vein stripping. In B.C., a patient will be told he or she can wait a few years for surgery or walk across the street to have an equally effective, less invasive treatment right away as long as they're willing to pay several thousand dollars.
