What is Radiofrequency Ablation? Watch Dr. Esposito Treat Venous Insufficiency with RF Ablation
https://www.milfordvascular.com/service/venous-insufficiency-treatment-new-haven-connecticut/
Dr. Esposito in Action: Radiofrequency Ablation for Venous Insufficiency
Venous insufficiency affects millions of people, causing leg pain, swelling, varicose veins, and potentially leading to dangerous complications like leg ulcers, blood clots, or even pulmonary embolisms if left untreated.
In this video, watch board-certified vascular surgeon Dr. Esposito perform radiofrequency ablation (RFA) — a minimally invasive, outpatient procedure that uses microwave energy to gently seal off malfunctioning veins and restore healthy blood flow.
✅ Performed in under an hour
✅ No stitches or staples
✅ Minimal scarring
✅ Fast recovery with long-lasting relief
This gold-standard treatment is trusted for its safety, efficiency, and ability to significantly improve quality of life.
At Milford Vascular Institute, we’re proud to offer advanced vascular treatments that help our patients live more comfortably, stay active, and avoid future health risks.
"So this is a radiofrequency procedure that we're going to do. We're going to be ablating, getting rid of the greater saphenous vein, which is leaking. You can see the black circle in the middle of the screen. That's the greater saphenous vein. If she presses on it, you'll see it disappears.
So that's how we know it's a vein. And it's located between those two white lines there, which is the fascia. So this greater saphenous vein, we're going to use ultrasound to puncture it, and then we'll thread a wire up into it. So first you're going to feel a little pinch here and burn.
This is the Novocaine with a little local anesthetic. That's a nice picture there. You can see that white dot in the middle of the vein. So that's my needle right in the vein. Next we have the RF, the radiofrequency catheter.
So this is the catheter. This is the end of it. So this 10 centimeters will heat up the radiofrequency. The microwave energy will heat this up to 120 degrees Celsius, and it will burn the vein.
It'll burn the inside of the vein. So we're gonna pass this up to the junction where the deep system and the superficial systems come together. So that's a great picture Katie's getting for us. So that white line there is our catheter.
This is where the valve is. Okay. You can actually see the valve there. Katie can point to it. You see it flapping in the breeze. There's the valve right there. So we're gonna come back about a centimeter and a half from that valve, and position our catheter. So now we're positioned.
So the next thing we're going to do is, obviously we don't want him to feel when that catheter heats up to 120 degrees Celsius. So we're going to surround the catheter with fluid and an anesthetic, serve as a heat sink so that that heat won't be transmitted to him and he won't feel anything during the procedure.
So again, using ultrasound guidance, we can put that fluid into the right space so you can see that area between those two white lines, and you'll see it start to open up with that fluid that's going in.
I'm just kind of massaging that fluid all the way up the leg in that space. And so now everything is anesthetized. It's all surrounded with fluid. So next thing we do is we turn on the catheter. So we hit the button here and always at the top, we burn twice for 20 seconds and then we'll move down the vein by 10 centimeter increments until we complete the whole vein.
And that's it. That's the procedure. So the only mark will be this little needle hole. And we'll put a little band-aid on it. We can put him in a stocking and he'll kind of wear the stocking for the next week or so. That's it.
Not bad, right? No, not at all. So that's radiofrequency ablation of the greater saphenous vein. So. Thank you."
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🌐 Learn more about our venous insufficiency treatment options here:
👉 https://www.milfordvascular.com/service/venous-insufficiency-treatment-new-haven-connecticut/
