Vein treatment has come a long way over the last decade with the advent of minimally-invasive techniques that eliminate varicose veins. The non-surgical procedures are performed in the office without any incisions or downtime making it an easy choice for both men and women seeking to improve their health and appearance.
However, our team at the Vein Specialist Centers has outlined in a white paper article on ethical vein treatment, there is serious concern about selecting the right vein doctor for your care.
We present this article to help you find excellent vein treatment in Manhasset NY!
How To Begin Your Search
- Referral from your primary care doctor
- Referral from Physical Therapy or Podiatry
- Self-directed Search on Google, Bing, Yahoo, ZocDoc or Yelp
- Advertisement on Facebook, YouTube or Instagram
- Local publications or Newspaper advertisement
Referrals are often non-specific and can be misguided. Our vein clinic recommends that once you have made the decision to seek out vein care (whether it’s because of a referral or advertisement), you perform a self directed search. Google or Bing are the most popular search engines.
The Google Search
Like any search, most individuals are looking for something in their vicinity. A typical search may begin with a query about “vein doctor near me” or “best vein clinic near me.” You may even consider a hyper-specific search with your city and ask “varicose veins doctor in Manhasset” or “top vein treatment around Manhasset.” Some variation of your terms will lead to a typical search result that includes:
- At the top of the page: 2 or 3 advertisements
- A local 3-pack by google that emphasizes clinics nearest your current location (see image below)
- Organic search results
About 15% of patients will click on the ADs at the very top of the page. Fair warning, whomever spends the most lands at the top. Most patients will conduct a bit more research before clicking on the most attention grabbing headline.
A third of patients will decide from the local 3 pack, based on star-ratings, proximity and regional presence. However, we have a few important suggestions:
- Select only vascular trained physicians (vascular surgeon, cardiovascular specialist, interventional radiologists or diplomates of ABVLM). Patients should avoid seeing non-vascular specialists like pain management or internists that do not have additional certification such as ABVLM.
- Filter your results for top-rated specialities over distance. The google default is often distance, however patients should consider clinics with an average review rating of 4.5 or more.
- Scrutinize the reviews for authenticity.
Here’s An example of the local 3 pack for a search on restaurants:
As you can see, there is some basic map information along with 3 or 4 suggested locations. Each comes with a star rating, location and hours of operation. In some cases, a short snippet might be included about your specific search or a testimonial.
Below the local 3 pack, you have the organic search results. Almost half of search queries end up scrolling down to the top 3 organic search results.
The most important thing is to seek out reputable vein specialists with core competencies obtained through a vascular-specific residency or fellowship. Far too many vein clinics are now utilizing physicians practicing outside the scope of their certifications in pain medicine, anesthesiology, GYN or even bariatric surgery. While vein medicine can be learned through post-graduate training, physicians from non-traditional pathways should demonstrate competency through ABVLM certification.
Top 4 Things To Consider About Your Vein Doctor
The truth is there are many excellent vein doctors and it’s not that difficult to find them once you have the right tools to guide your search. However, it’s a very individualized experience, so you need to make sure the experience suits your objectives.
There are several criteria that you can use to judge whether or not a particular physician is right for you and your procedure. Use these 4 objective criteria to guide your research.
Look for board certification in a Vascular Specialty
Without context, board-certification is just a piece of paper. Your vein specialist must have completed rigorous training in a vascular-specific field. A residency or fellowship-trained doctor in vascular surgery, interventional cardiology or radiology is the best choice. Physicians from non-traditional or alternative pathways in pain medicine or internists should otherwise demonstrate clinical competence through completion of American Board of Vascular and Lymphatic Medicine (ABVLM) certification. These credentials are important markers that signal you can trust the doctor in question to be highly trained and qualified to perform your procedure. This is especially crucial in light of the fact that many untrained doctors are calling advertising heavily as “vein doctors” without any formal vascular training.
Choose The Doctor Best For Your Goals
This is one reason why you can’t just search a phrase like “the best vein doctor near me” on the internet and choose the top result.
Good vein treatment requires the provider to have an understanding of your goals and be able to customize his or her treatment to your situation and needs. Your vein doctor should be willing to take the necessary time to explain their treatment plan and expectations. Most qualified vein doctors are enthusiastic about sharing their before and after photos to help visualize outcomes. Patient reviews on patient forums can also provide honest feedback from patients regarding their experiences with potential surgeon candidates.
Investment Into Patient Care
It’s especially important to ensure that the facility your procedure will take place in is held to the highest standards of safety, quality and patient care. Patients at top-rated facilities may have fewer complications and better outcomes.
A friendly staff lets you know that the practice values every aspect of the care process.
Following your procedure, you may want to contact your vein doctor. You should be able to reach them outside of office hours, even through on-call or answering services, to handle any emergencies such as allergic reactions. Consider these services when choosing your dermatologist. At our practice, each patient is provided a direct contact line to the doctor and staff available at all hours.
Comprehensive Care
A Vein Doctor should help you manage all aspects of spider and varicose vein treatment. This includes both medical and cosmetic treatments. A true expert clinic should have options for:
- Endovenous Vein Ablation with either RF vein ablation or laser vein ablation (EVLA)
- On-site ultrasound with full-time registered vascular technicians (RVT). Contract technicians are often incentivized to find positive studies to increase their pay.
- Foam Sclerotherapy
- Cosmetic sclerotherapy with Asclera or STS. Laser spider vein treatments are more limited in treatment and often performed by aestheticians.
- Enhanced treatments for spider veins can include Augmented Visualization, cryosclerotherapy and vein-lites.
If you find the vein clinic refuses to treat cosmetic spider veins and focuses only on insurance-related procedures, it should be a warning sign. Look out for vein doctors that state “we only fix the underlying problem” or “vein ablation will take care of all your vein issues.” An experienced vein doctor will manage all aspects of treatment and in only rare specific cases refer out spider vein treatment.
A Word About Our Vein Center in Manhasset
The Vein Specialist Centers is a state-of-the-art vein clinic near Manhasset, Long Island. It is led by our multi-boarded vascular specialists, Dr. Simon Smith.
Our vein center stands out in the North Shore region for several reasons:
- Dr. Smith is certified by RPVI (Registered Physician in Vascular Imaging) providing on-site expertise in venous imaging with ultrasound. He is both an expert in diagnosis and treatment using advanced modalities in ultrasound.
- Our full-time team includes Jessica Madera for consistent image quality. Jessica is a registered vascular technician (RVT).
- Our vein treatments are provided on-site with no need for anesthesia. Dr. Smith is highly-trained in minimally-invasive treatments for same day procedures and recovery.
- A highly trained prior authorization team and insurance specialists to make certain medically necessary procedures are covered.
- Enthusiasm to share before and after pictures. See our regular postings here.
Our clinic is located on 560 Northern Boulevard in North Shore Long Island in close proximity to Manhasset. The clinic can be easily accessed via Norgate Rd which becomes NY-25A/Northern Blvd W.
Take the Next Step
If you’re looking for an expert vein doctor to address your leg pain or spider and varicose veins , don’t hesitate to visit our office. We encourage you to schedule a consultation at the Vein Specialist Centers of Long Island.
