WHAT TO EXPECT DURING YOUR CONSULTATION
A consultation with Dr. Ferland for leg pain or varicose veins is covered by medical insurance.
During your consultation Dr. Ferland will take a history, evaluate your symptoms, examine your legs and perform a brief ultrasound screening of your legs. She will then discuss her findings with you, answer your questions about venous disease and then explain what the next step should be. If you have diseased arteries she will make the appropriate referral but if you have venous disease she will schedule the DUPLEX EXAM.
WHAT TO EXPECT AFTER YOUR CONSULTATION
If more testing is needed (called a complete DUPLEX EXAM), coverage by your insurance will be verified prior to scheduling the DUPLEX EXAM in our office with our Certified Ultrasound Technologist. Once your DUPLEX EXAM is completed as scheduled, Dr. Ferland will review your results and advise you accordingly. She will make a recommendation if treatment is necessary. If you have VENOUS REFLUX also known as VENOUS INSUFFICIENCY and you are a candidate for VNUS® Closure Dr. Ferland will inform you of this, recommend and explain your treatment plan. A consultation note will also be sent to your referring physician to keep them informed of your care.
Dr. Ferland can also give direct insight about what the procedure is like since she had the VNUS® Closure procedure herself after investigating treatment options for years. The joy of knowing that there was a safe and minimally invasive and highly effective treatment for leg pain in an office setting will also very likely give you a great sense of relief. Yes, finally there is a reasonable alternative to vein stripping and excessively high temperature treatments like laser (1000 degrees Celsius ? similar to molten lava).
WHAT IS VNUS® Closure
· VNUS® Closure is a non invasive treatment to the diseased superficial veins in your legs using radio frequency waves,
· The radio frequency waves produce an evenly delivered heat of 120 degrees Celsius using the VNUS Closure Fast Catheter
· there is little to no down time,
· VNUS® Closure is covered by most insurance companies and is NOT considered cosmetic
· Your initial office consultation is covered by insurance companies
· Your complete diagnostic DUPLEX EXAM is covered by insurance companies
· Your VNUS® Closure procedure is covered by most insurance companies
· Sclerotherapy for spider veins is not covered by insurance companies as they consider it not medically necessary and hence a cosmetic procedure
· Your compression hose are NOT covered by insurance companies but we do sell an exceptional quality hose at a discount price to our patients. A pair of thigh-highs retail at $85 is sold for $69 to you.
WHY CAN'T I HAVE THE VNUS® CLOSURE PROCEDURE soon after the Diagnosis of VENOUS INSUFFICIENCY is made?
The majority of new patients have not fulfilled the insurance requirements laid out by their personal medical insurance policy in order for the much needed VNUS® Closure procedure to be considered medically necessary.
If you wish to proceed with the VNUS® Closure procedure our insurance personnel will enquire about your specific insurance policy requirements.
In a nutshell, policies will require documentation of a proper course of conservative management that you have worn the proper compression hose daily for a given number of weeks or months (depending on the policy- see below), been advise to wear them daily, exercise on a regular basis, elevate your legs to relieve swelling and discomfort, take medication as needed for pain and be advised to loose weight if weight is a contributing factor. Documentation of this course of ?conservative management? takes place when you are asked to come back once or twice to see Dr. Ferland in follow up. We are aware that completion of conservative management does not treat the disease but you will now be in a position to have your VNUS® Closure procedure deemed medically necessary.
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