What are the risks of treatment?

There's always a risk-benefit ratio whenever you consider surgical options, so anytime we need to make a cut in the skin, there is a risk of having small amounts of bleeding, there's a risk of introducing an infection, as well as having a small scar. Now we try to minimize the risk of an infection by giving antibiotics prior to the procedure and we also, to minimize the risk of developing a blood clot, you can give an anticoagulation which is either a tablet or an injection after the procedure to reduce the likelihood of that risk. The other risks are that you may feel some numbness, especially if applying heat to the vein because there are nearby nerves, that numbness shouldn't be permanent and should recover with time. In addition, there may be some skin discoloration, and again, this varies between different treatment options that's used, but because the veins themselves are close to the skin, you may get some yellowing of the skin as well. And the most significant of risk for varicose vein treatment is the formation of a deep venous thrombosis, which again is tried to be reduced by the use of anticoagulation.