Ablation therapy uses heat to zap pain away

A therapy that uses heat to treat the inside of your veins could help zap away pain.

It's a common problem for those living with diabetes or even high blood pressure. Pain in the legs due to neuropathy.

“I was noticing a lot of numbness in my legs, and a lot of leg cramping severely,“ said Mike Baron.

Mike Baron had this condition for years.

“Neuropathy is a general term for irritation of the nerves that affect the feeling and discomfort in the feet,” said Dr. Andy Hearn, Vascular Surgeon/ Vein Center Of Cincinnati.

Finally, mike was referred to vascular surgeon doctor Andy Hearn of Ohio's Vein Center of Cincinnati. He performed a doppler ultrasound test.

“It shows you the direction of blood flow in the veins, it should be a one-way street of flow going back toward the heart,” said Hearn.

It turned out mike had a secondary condition found in as many as half of those with neuropathy. It's called venous insufficiency. It causes the blood to flow the wrong direction. The treatment for it.

“Radiofrequency is a thermal ablation technique, it uses heat energy off of a catheter, its similar to a laser, and the heat from the Radiofrequency catheter seals the vein closed,” said Hearn.

The ablation re-routes the direction of the blood flow. Within months Mike says, “I was able to move, my legs weren't swelled as bad as they were, it wasn’t constant fatigue.”

That let mike move, more on his job here at this international market. The end result?

“I’ve lost a total of 60 pounds since September,” said Baron.

In most cases if you meet certain criteria, this therapy is covered by your medical insurance.