I had ablation on my varicose veins. I had varicose veins in one leg for many years. They were in the calf and were getting progressively worse until I had 2 instances of spontaneous bleeding…yes, my leg bled! Very scary and there was a lot of blood. I went to an excellent vascular surgeon (lucky me, he was my first choice…a wonderful doctor). They did an ultrasound of both legs and the lone had a problem with the saphenous vein in my thigh. He explained that varicose veins are often caused by problems in this vein. When the problem there is fixed, it often fixes the varicose veins in the bottom of the leg. The procedure was ablation…a very fine instrument is inserted in the problem vein. It does go in quite far. It is heated as it is withdrawn (yes, I thought it was painful, but not terribly.) you are awake, but they give you a local. It is done gradually. If it seals off the vein properly, blood will not pool in the veins in the bottom of the leg. If the ablation does not solve the problem in the top of the leg, then you go back and have it done in the bottom. It worked on the first try and my leg has not looked this good in years. The procedure is done in a clinical room…not the OR or hospital and takes about 1/2 hour. You have to wear a compression stocking for a while after. You have a tiny cut where the instrument is inserted which is covered by a bandaid after. There was no talk of removing the vein surgically. If you are in the NJ area, I can give you his name etc. I have been told by others that vein stripping (is that what you are getting?) is not done much any more. Look it up on YouTube.