Clarivein
Questions and Answers
- What is Clarivein?
- What kinds of veins can be treated?
- What is the success rate for Clarivein?
- What are the risks of Clarivein?
- How many treatments will be required?
- What should I do to prepare for treatment?
- What can I expect during treatment?
- Is the treatment painful?
- What can I expect following treatment?
- Do I really need to wear support hose?
- Does OHIP cover the cost of Clarivein?
- Does extended health insurance cover the cost of Clarivein?
- What are the alternatives to Clarivein?
- What is your cancellation policy?
What is Clarivein?
Clarivein is a technique for the treatment of large varicose veins that is a variation of sclerotherapy (vein injections). It involves the insertion of a catheter into the veins. The catheter contains a wire which is spun inside the vein to scratch the lining. At the same time medication is injected to further injure the vein.
What kinds of veins can be treated?
Any vein which is straight enough to pass the catherter can be treated. The most common vein for which we use Clarivein is the short saphenous vein. This vein runs up the back of the calf from the ankle to the knee.
Veins that are very twisty cannot be treated because the catheter cannot be passed up the vein.
What is the success rate for Clarivein?
The immediate success rate is about 99% (the vein closes with the treatment).
The recurrence rate is also important to know. This is the number of times that new veins develop in the treated area as time passes. For Clarivein this is about 6% within 3 years. In other words, the long term success rate is about 94%.
What are the risks of Clarivein?
Clarivein is a very safe technique. The risks are the same as for sclerotherapy (vein injections). Serious complications are rare.
Bruising can occur, but it is usually very mild. These bruises resolve in ten days or so.
Tenderness along the treated vein can occur and may last a few weeks. Simple pain medication may be required, but most people don't need anything.
Marked tenderness and redness may occur in the treated area (phlebitis). This is very uncommon, perhaps 1%. This may take 3 days to 3 weeks to resolve.
Blood clots can form in the deep vessels of the legs (rare) with any type of vein treatment. The risk of a clot from Clarivein is the same as for sclerothrapy (approximately 1 clot for every 1,000 treatments).
How many treatments will be required?
In most cases only one session of Clarivein is required. This session will treat the largest vein. Smaller residual veins are treated later, usually with sclerotherapy (vein injections).
Two veins can be treated in a single session (e.g. right and left short saphenous veins).
Back to top
What should I do to prepare for treatment?
Take a soapy shower the morning of treatment.
Do not shave your legs the day of treatment (tiny nicks will sting when we use antiseptic to sterilize your skin).
Do not apply lotion or cream to your legs (tape will not stick).
Bring a pair of loose shorts. Bring long pants or a long skirt to wear afterwards.
Bring support hose to wear after treatment. In most cases, this will have been ordered for you, and it will be here for you.
Eat well before you come to avoid hypoglycemia and fainting.
Drink lots of fluids before your treatment to fill up your veins and to prevent fainting.
Avoid exercise (even walking) prior to treatment. This may drain your veins and make accessing your veins more difficult. It is preferable to stand for a prolonged time to fill your veins.
Back to top
What can I expect during treatment?
First, an ultrasound examination is carried out to map the vein to be treated.
Then you lie on the exam bed, and a needle is inserted into the vein under ultrasound guidance.
The Clarivein catheter is inserted through the needle and up the vein to the source of the problem..
Ultrasound is used to check the placement of the Clarivein catheter.
Then the Claivein motor is activated to spin the wire. It feels like a buzz. The wire is slowly pulled back and at the same time medication is injected through the tip of the wire. This part only takes about five minutes.
We might inject other veins.
A rope is placed along the treated veins to compress them.
Support hose is applied to the leg, and you stay for ten minutes or so with your feet up.
After this, you get up, go for a short walk, then go home. There is no downtime.
The whole procedure takes about 60 to 90 minutes depending on complexity and the number of veins treated.
Is the treatment painful?
Other than a small local anesthetic shot to numb the skin at the access point, the procedure is usually painless or minimally uncomfortable.
What can I expect following treatment?
There is no downtime. You don't need time off work.
You will be wearing a compression stocking which must be left in place for the first 24 hours, then in the daytime for one week..
You are encouraged to be as active as possible, except in the first 24 hours when vigorous exercise should be avoided. You should walk every day.
For a few days you should avoid hot baths, saunas, hot tubs etc.
You may be a bit sore for a few days. Most people need no pain meds. Some people use simple analgesics like Tylenol (acetaminophen) or Advil (ibuprofen). Stronger pain medication such as codeine is not needed.
Do I really need to wear support hose?
When large veins are treated, support hose is required. It is an important part of the treatment. Use of support hose decreases the rate of complications.
Does OHIP cover the cost of Clarivein?
Clarivein is not covered by OHIP.
Does extended health insurance cover the cost of Clarivein? Is it a legitimate tax deduction?
Clarivein is probably not covered by your extended health plan, but check with your insurer.
The cost of support hose is almost always covered by extended health insurance. Receipts and a prescription will be provided to submit to your insurer.
Clarivein is a medical procedure performed by a physician for the treatment of a disease (varicose veins). Therefore, the cost of the procedure is a legitimate medical expense that can be used as a tax credit.
Health Spending Accounts can also be used to pay for the procedure.
What are the alternatives to Clarivein?
You may choose to do nothing with your varicose veins, but you risk developing complications such as venous ulcers and blood clots.
Wearing support hose will reduce symptoms, slow down progression of the varicose veins, and reduce complications (ulcers and blood clots).
Surgery can be done to strip large veins. This is a painful procedure that usually results in one to three weeks of time loss. It leaves scars. There is about a 25% chance that you will get new veins in the same area within three years. OHIP stopped covering stripping in 2012 except in patients with complications like ulcers.
Foam sclerotherapy can be done. The success rate is high for small veins but drops for larger and larger veins.
EVLA (endovenous laser ablation) can be performed. This treatment uses heat to kill veins. There is a risk of heating and injuring nerves. The most common vein for which we use Clarivein is the short saphenous vein. There are nerves in the area which can be injured by the heat of EVLA. These nerves feed the muscles which move your foot up and down. Clarivein does not damage nerves, so it is a better choice for this specific vein.
What is your cancellation policy?
You are booking a large block of time for your treatment. A deposit is required at the time of booking.
We require two weeks of notice for cancellation of your appointment, in order to fill this time. If sufficient notice is not given, and we are unable to fill the appontment slot, the deposit is forfeited. Basically, you have bought our time, and you cannot return it for a refund.
Contact Us