If you have been putting off doing something about your legs, it is often not the treatment that puts people off. It is the process: the referral, the wait, the appointment that leads to another appointment.

We built our vein clinic specifically to remove that. Here is what a first appointment looks like.

Your ultrasound comes first

A certified ultrasonographer maps the veins in your legs and looks at how blood is actually moving through them. This is a painless scan, and it is the part that tells us what is really going on. Varicose veins that look dramatic on the surface can be straightforward underneath, and quiet-looking legs can hide a significant problem.

Then you see the surgeon, the same day

Your results do not go into an envelope to be discussed weeks later. The surgeon reviews them with you immediately afterward, in the same visit, and explains what the images show in language you can follow.

This is the part patients tell us they were not expecting. Getting a vein problem assessed used to mean several separate trips and a wait of more than two years. Putting the testing and the specialist consultation into one appointment removed most of that.

You leave with a plan

By the end of the visit you will know which of these applies to you:

  • Endovenous laser treatment (EVLT): for larger, refluxing veins
  • Sclerotherapy or laser treatment: for spider veins and smaller surface veins
  • Compression therapy: fitted by our certified fitters, either as treatment or alongside it
  • Prevention and monitoring: if there is nothing that needs treating yet

Plenty of people leave in that last category, and that is a good outcome. Knowing your legs are fine is worth the visit on its own.

What to bring

Wear something that makes it easy to expose your legs from the ankle up. If you have had previous vein treatment, bring what you know about it. And bring your questions: there is a surgeon in the room, which is not something you get at every appointment.

Booking a consultation at Valley Medical takes one phone call: 902-678-2121, or email hello@vmedical.ca. We see patients in Kentville, NS and by appointment in Summerside, PE.

What the duplex ultrasound assessment involves