The War Against Anti-Ageing with the T.E.L.C. Technique

The latest targets in the war against ageing are the hands and feet with more and more people finding that veins on the feet and hands are a cosmetic problem which can be fixed. The T.E.L.C. technique is the latest trick for bulging veins on hands and feet.

Dilated veins are not exclusive to the legs. They can develop on other areas of the body; forearms, hands and feet are common locations.

Prominent hand and foot veins are normal veins, not varicose veins. Their function is to carry blood back to the heart. However, there are many veins on the surface of hands and feet as well as deeper beneath the surface.

Prominent veins on your hands and feet not only are unsightly: they are a typical sign of ageing and can make you look substantially older. Over the years, the skin gets thinner and loses some of its elasticity and volume.

This can result in a more noticeable appearance of lumpy, unattractive veins on the skin's surface.

These unsightly veins are merely a cosmetic problem: they don't even have a role in the work of the circulatory system. Those on the surface can be safely removed without causing any significant problem.

Skin doctors usually offer only chemical peels, filler and laser treatments to plump and smooth hands and reduce ageing spots. Cosmetic Vascular Surgeons can turn back the clock on this kind of ageing using minimally invasive techniques carried out on an outpatient basis and under local anaesthetic when required.

Treatment options involved physically removing the veins (microphlebectomy), or injecting them with a sclerosant agent (sclerotherapy). Although the success rates are generally good, these methods can take some time to be effective and with sclerotherapy, several sessions may be required. Though rare, potential side effects are extremely small scars, residual from microsurgery, or brown spots and a higher recurrence rate residual from sclerotherapy.

A cutting-edge, minimally invasive endovascular technology is effective in reducing the appearance of those unsightly bumps and lumps on your feet, forearms and hands.

Endovenous Laser Microcoagulation (also known as T.E.L.C. Technique) is a minimally invasive procedure to close bulging veins sealing them off from the inside. T.E.L.C. Technique (Transilluminated Endovenous Laser Coagulation) for veins on the arms, hands and feet is the most up-to-date technology for this purpose, so there are very few clinicians offering this procedure.

Endovenous laser therapy (T.E.L.C. Technique) can greatly enhance the success rate for treating unattractive forearm, hand and feet veins, either in isolation or in conjunction with microsurgery and/or sclerotherapy.

The treatment of forearms, hands and feet veins is bespoke to the individual.

A catheter is inserted into the troublesome vein and a very tiny laser fibre is passed through, delivering short bursts of energy that heat up the vein and seal it closed. The laser is slowly pulled along the vein, allowing the entire length of the vein to be closed. Blood no longer pumps through it and so it disappears. The procedure, carried out under local anaesthetic, typically takes less than 1 hour. Right afterwards you can resume your normal activities.

In the first weeks following treatment, elastic compression is applied to the treated areas to minimise bruising and minor swelling that might occur.

"I‘ve been a pioneer in the use of endovenous laser, introducing this procedure in my practice many years ago, treating lots of Celebrities! Women often tell me their hands and feet look at least 10 years older than their face because of these veins, so I developed a treatment designed specifically for these delicate areas, decreasing visibility of veins. It can also be used with other techniques, like filler injections, mesotherapy and chemical peels to reduce pigmentation of the skin and plump up lost volume and, if needed, laser resurfacing".

Top doctors are offering the so-called ‘handacials' (hand-facials) to their smooth-faced but wrinkly-on-hand patients: office-based, local anaesthetic, no-incision, no-scar endovenous laser treatment ( T.E.L.C. Technique: Transilluminated Endovenous Laser Coagulation) plus sclerotherapy is the only method effective in reducing prominent veins on the backs of hands and feet.

Actresses and models are said to be fans of it, a treatment that's increasingly popular with women who want to avoid their hands give away their real age.

Knightsbridge and Harley Street based Aesthetic and Vascular Specialist Dr Giuseppe Serpieri says ‘There is a day-by-day increasing request for anti-ageing hand and foot treatments, which are areas that tend to show our age more quickly.'

But is it safe to remove veins from hands and feet?

The short answer is yes! The loss of the treated veins is not damaging because after the treatment the blood in the faulty veins will be diverted to other normal veins in order to make its way back to the heart.

However, in the first week or two following the treatment, some swelling of the fingers may occur.

Treatment is unlikely to cause any damage to nearby structures and significant complications following treatment are very uncommon. There can be some bruising afterwards which settles in a few days.

An excellent cosmetic outcome is achieved, but the final result takes a few weeks to achieve, so it cannot be considered a "last minute" treatment.

The T.E.L.C. Technique is a great way to reset your beauty biological clock!