For most patients, a vein disease is often accompanied by serious increasing discomfort in addition to an impairment of the appearance.Varicose vein treatment according to the CHIVA method is a cosmetically gentle, tissue-conserving and safe method. Varicose vein therapy according to the CHIVA method (“Cure Conservatrice et Hémodynamique de l’Insuffisance Veineuse en Ambulatoire”) is a vascular and function-preserving treatment of varicose veins (varicose veins).The procedure is performed on an outpatient basis.The method was developed by the French physician Claude Franceschi and first presented to the public in 1988. It is now a recognized procedure in France and the Mediterranean region, where varicose vein disease (varicose veins) is even more common than in our country, and has enthusiastic supporters among patients and physicians.
Before the operation
Before surgery, an intensive medical history discussion should be conducted that includes the patient’s medical history and motivation for the procedure. The procedure, any side effects, and the consequences of the surgery should be discussed in detail. Note: The requirements of the explanation are stricter than usual, since courts in the field of aesthetic surgery demand a “relentless” explanation.
Furthermore, you should not take acetylsalicylic acid (ASA), sleeping pills or alcohol for a period of seven to ten days before the operation. Both acetylsalicylic acid and other painkillers delay blood clotting and can lead to unwanted bleeding.Smokers should severely limit their nicotine consumption as early as four weeks before the procedure so as not to jeopardize wound healing.
The surgical procedure
The crucial malfunction in varicose vein disease is so-called dead circulation in the leg veins. As a result, the used blood is not transported away and accumulates in the legs.In conventional surgical methods, diseased veins are either totally removed – “stripping”, Babcock operation – or closed by sclerotherapy. The disadvantage of these procedures is obvious: blood stagnation also occurs in the many healthy side branches of the varices (varicose veins), which now no longer have an outflow.The CHIVA method avoids this decisive disadvantage by specifically preventing only the entry of blood into the dead circuits.The special feature of the CHIVA method is that the outflow is maintained for all veins in the leg and thus the blood stagnation in the varicose veins is eliminated. The varicose veins themselves are not removed.For you as a patient, this has other advantages: Only the smallest incisions are made, which are performed under local anesthesia (local anesthetic). Prior to the procedure, a special ultrasound examination is performed to precisely mark the areas where the varicose veins need to be interrupted. This eliminates the need for contrast imaging of the veins.
The patient can go home immediately after the treatment and is usually fit for work the next day. If desired, inpatient care for one or two days is of course also possible, but this is not usually necessary.
The CHIVA method can also provide good relief in the case of complaints following previous Babcock surgery, sclerotherapy or after a past thrombosis of the deep leg veins.
The advantages of the CHIVA method are:
- Non-hazardous special ultrasound examination as the only preliminary examination.
- No contrast imaging of the veins
- Procedure without anesthesia
- Complete preservation of the outflow pathways of the blood from the leg
- Excellent cosmetic result
- No accompanying injuries
- Gentle treatment of the soft tissues, since the veins are not removed
- Outpatient procedure
- No bed rest is required even after the procedure
- No or only short incapacity for work
