Question:
Do varicose veins fade after the surgery or are they here to stay?

   — Patricia R. (posted on November 26, 2002)

November 26, 2002
Mine seem to be here to stay. :-(
   — Barbara B.

November 26, 2002
Not only haven't my varicose veins faded, they've actually gotten a little worse since surgery (Open RNY 7/25/02). Of course, that could be because I'm walking a whole lot more now than I ever did back then. But I've had some superficial phlebitis on my right leg for about a month now, when my nastiest veins got pretty swollen and started to hurt a lot. My doctor has me wearing compression stockings, which are ugly, but do help the swelling go down. He pretty much told me that I'm going to have to deal with the veins surgically or sclerotically after I'm done losing.
   — AmyL

November 26, 2002
hi there. i only had one real noticable one pre op but now post op i have ones much more noticeable now. they must have been hiding. :)
   — carrie M.

November 26, 2002
I agree with the other posters--my varicose veins are much worse since the surgery. I think loosing weight in the legs shows up the veins more. Less fat hiding them. There is a new procedure to remove veins that is done by interventional radiologists. You may want to look into it.
   — katherine A.

November 27, 2002
I hate to confirm, but not only are they here to stay, but they'll probably get worse. Once you've lost all your weight, you can go to a dermatologist office and he/she can inject a high concentration saline solution into the spider and varicose veins and they will dissappear. I say this from experience because it works. You must check around though because there is a big difference in prices. Insurance won't cover it because it is strictly cosmetic. Here in Ann Arbor, I paid $250 for 1 cc of solution. I had this done at 3 different times for a total of $750 for 3 cc. I got a recommendation from a friend and drove 45 minutes to Jackson, Michigan to a dermatologist who charges only $100 for 3 cc. Like I said, quite a price difference. You can get it done every 4 weeks or so, and depending on how many veins you have, you'll probably need more than one treatment.
   — Lynette B.

November 29, 2002
I've had one spider/varicose vein just above my knee since I was about 20 (I'm 35 now). At one of my post-abdominoplasty/brachioplasty checkups, I asked my plastic surgeon (Dr. Egrari in Bellevue, WA) if there was anything that could be done for it. He said, sure, I can inject some saline into it and it will probably fade a bit; two or three injections and it should be gone in a month or two. I asked him how much, and he said, don't worry about it, I can do it right now (keep in mind, however, that I'd already spent $6800 out of pocket with him, my insurance had reimbursed him another $4000, and I had plans to spend $6000 more on thighs and a few other spots). He injected saline into probably 10 spots all over the vein, and it hurt like h*ll, but within two weeks, it had faded to the point where I couldn't even find it any more. I am thrilled! <p>It's funny how after you have one plastic surgery procedure done, the body part next to the now-beautiful part starts looking worse... now that my arms and tummy are great, my thighs and boobs look awful. LOL But hey, I'll take these problems over not being able to climb two flights of stairs any day. 14.5 months post op, down 182 lbs (310 to 128), and very happy!
   — Julia Z.

April 27, 2003
Old thread, but ... just had my varicose veins removed. I had them pre-op and yes, they got alot worse after. Well, they were always there, just had a lot of padding around them. Now that it's gone, they protruded alot more and were very painful. Insurance paid for surgery...had to have some ultrasound compression test done to prove I had bad flow to get it covered. Surgery was uncomfortable, at home resting now, but I'll be so much more comfortable wearing shorts this summer with out the blue buldges in my legs!!
   — missesrita