A British company is hoping to market a procedure called Varisolve that
eliminates varicose veins without surgery. Instead of extracting it through a
cut in the patient’s groin, doctors “kill” the offending vein by filling it with
an injectible foam. The foam’s ingredients cause spasms which collapse the vein,
after which it gradually disappears. Made by Provensis, the foam shows up on
ultrasound, so doctors can monitor the procedure to check it has worked. “I
think it has the potential to be a substantial breakthrough,” says Charles
McCollum of the South Manchester University Hospitals, who tested the procedure
on 21…
To continue reading, today with our introductory offers
Advertisement
More from New Scientist
Explore the latest news, articles and features
Popular articles
Trending New Scientist articles
1
The world's fastest spider tops 3.5 metres per second
2
Babies are born with the neural foundations for maths
3
Where, when and how to watch the 2026 solar eclipse
4
Humans sleep the least of all apes – is it the secret to our success?
5
Our verdict on The Selfish Gene: An unpopular piece of popular science
6
US government wants to have a useful quantum computer by 2028
7
We’ve uncovered a master gene that switches on human development
8
I’m the first person whose life was saved by CRISPR base editing
9
The race to understand how and when Thwaites glacier will collapse
10
You should turn off fans when it's too hot – but how hot is too hot?



