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Summertime is almost here and that means it is time to pull out the Bermuda shorts and mini-skirts, but for many Americans summertime fashion can be a real pain in the legs. Almost two million Americans suffer with varicose veins, which can turn a sunny summer day into a wardrobe challenge — not to mention the pain and night cramps caused by this condition.

Now there is an easier way to make those unsightly veins vanish. Physicians are now performing endovenous laser treatment, a minimally invasive procedure that eliminates varicose veins which was developed by Dr. Robert Min, director of the Cornell Vascular Center at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell and vice chairman of Radiology at Weill Medical College of Cornell University.

The procedure consists of a tiny laser fiber, threaded through the vein, which applies heat that causes the vein to disintegrate. The laser fiber treatment has a very low complication rate, a rapid recovery and a success rate of 98 percent.

Unlike the traditional surgical approach to treating varicose veins, which is a large operation with a high frequency of recurrence and potential for complication,laser treatment is performed under local anesthetic, with the patient able to resume normal activities immediately following the procedure, said Dr. Ziv Haskal, director of the Division of Vascular and Interventional Radiology at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia and professor of Radiology at Columbia University College of Physicians Surgeons.

In the first long-term study published, endovenous treatment was shown to have better results with far fewer risks than traditional surgery, said Dr. Min. The laser treatment takes less than an hour to perform, which means patients can literally have the procedure done during their lunch break, he added. For more information on this procedure please contact 1-877-NYP-WELL.