Radio Frequency Ablations
Varithena is an FDA-approved prescription microfoam used in a non-surgical procedure to treat varicose veins and related venous problems. It works by damaging the inner lining of a damaged vein, causing the vein to collapse so blood flows through healthier veins instead.
How Do Radio Frequency Ablations Work?
Numbing the skin
Doctors clean the area and use a local numbing medicine so you do not feel sharp pain when the needle goes in.
Guiding the needle
The doctor uses a special X-ray or ultrasound machine to see inside your body and guide a thin, hollow needle right next to the painful nerve.
Safety testing
Before applying heat, the doctor sends a tiny electrical current to test the spot and make sure it is not touching a nerve that moves your muscles.
Creating a heat lesion
An electrode sends radio waves through the needle to heat a tiny tip. This heat creates a small scar or lesion on the nerve, blocking it from carrying pain signals.
What are Radio Frequency Ablations For?
Chronic Spinal and Joint Pain
When patients suffer from persistent neck, back, or knee arthritis pain that does not improve with physical therapy or medications.
Failed Conservative Care
When initial treatments like rest, anti-inflammatory drugs, or steroid injections wear off too quickly or provide no relief.
Positive Diagnostic Blocks
When a patient gets temporary, successful pain relief from a preliminary diagnostic nerve block injection, confirming the exact source of the pain.
To Delay or Avoid Surgery
When a minimally invasive option can successfully manage a patient's pain without the risks of a major operation.
What are the Benefits of Radio Frequency Ablations
General procedural advantages
Minimally invasive: Performed through a small needle or catheter, usually guided by imaging (ultrasound, fluoroscopy, or CT) — no large incisions
Precise targeting: Heat is delivered to a very specific, localized area, sparing surrounding healthy tissue
Outpatient procedure: Most RFA procedures are done same-day, often under local anesthesia or light sedation
Quick recovery: Patients typically resume normal activities within a few days, much faster than open surgery
Repeatable: Can often be redone if symptoms return or a new area needs treatment
For chronic pain (e.g., spine, joints)
Long-lasting pain relief: Can reduce or eliminate pain for 6 months to 2+ years by disabling the nerve's ability to transmit pain signals
Reduces need for pain medication: Can decrease reliance on opioids or other pain management drugs
Improves function and mobility: Less pain often means better ability to participate in physical therapy and daily activities
Are You a Candidate for Radio Frequency Ablations?
Long-lasting Pain
Long-lasting pain in your spine, neck, or arthritic joints that stays for more than three to six months. Temporary pain relief after a test nerve block procedure, which proves the exact spot causing your pain.
Failed relief
Failed relief from basic care like physical therapy, rest, or medicine.
