Varicose veins can be treated without surgery.
Veins in your legs work against gravity to return blood to the heart, so it is helped along by tiny valves that stop the blood going backwards. These one-way valves can weaken, causing blood to pool, which leads to bulbous, protruding veins. The discomfort of varicose veins is often described as fatigue, heaviness, itching or even cramps.
Historically, treatment of varicose centred on surgical removal of varicose veins under general anaesthetic. However, endovenous catheter ablation has become so successful that surgery is seldom needed. Endovenous means "working inside the vein" and ablation means "to close off". Under local anaesthetic, a laser fibre is threaded into the varicose vein and used to close off the problem veins, prompting the blood to redirect itself. Compression stockings are worn for two weeks post-treatment and regular walking is recommended.
There is no need for time off work. If you have varicose veins that are affecting you call Vein & Laser for a consultation with our doctor, vein physician Elisabeth De Felice.
Poll: 🤖 What skills do you think give a CV the ultimate edge in a robot-filled workplace?
The Reserve Bank has shared some pretty blunt advice: there’s no such thing as a “safe” job anymore 🛟😑
Robots are stepping into repetitive roles in factories, plants and warehouses. AI is taking care of the admin tasks that once filled many mid-level office jobs.
We want to know: As the world evolves, what skills do you think give a CV the ultimate edge in a robot-filled workplace?
Want to read more? The Press has you covered!
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52.7% Human-centred experience and communication
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14.6% Critical thinking
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30% Resilience and adaptability
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2.7% Other - I will share below!
Share your favourite main crop potato recipe and win a copy of our mag!
Love potatoes? We will give away free copies of the May 2026 issue to readers whose potato recipes are used in our magazine. To be in the running, make sure you email your family's favourite way to enjoy potatoes: mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz, by March 1, 2026.
Some Choice News!
DOC is rolling out a new tool to help figure out what to tackle first when it comes to protecting our threatened species and the things putting them at risk.
Why does this matter? As Nikki Macdonald from The Post points out, we’re a country with around 4,400 threatened species. With limited time and funding, conservation has always meant making tough calls about what gets attention first.
For the first time, DOC has put real numbers around what it would take to do everything needed to properly safeguard our unique natural environment. The new BioInvest tool shows the scale of the challenge: 310,177 actions across 28,007 sites.
Now that we can see the full picture, it brings the big question into focus: how much do we, as Kiwis, truly value protecting nature — and what are we prepared to invest to make it happen?
We hope this brings a smile!
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