Chandigarh, Aug 11 - Painful varicose veins, that are ignored by most patients, require immediate attention. Otherwise, it can even force amputation of the leg or foot, say experts.

A two-day symposium on the latest laser treatment for varicose veins was held here Aug 9-10 that was attended by over 200 vascular surgeons from India and abroad.

'Symptoms of this disease are swelling in the veins of legs and appearance of red and black scars on them. It is due to hereditary factors, wrong lifestyle and obesity. The patient's age-group varies from 16 to 87 years,' Ravul Jindal, vascular surgeon at Fortis hospital, Mohali, told reporters here Monday.

'During the conference we mainly focussed upon laser technique for treating varicose veins that no hospital in this region is using right now. The conventional way requires hospitalization, two to three weeks recovery time and leaves behind multiple cuts whereas this laser technique requires only few hours,' he added.

Jindal introduced this laser technique at Fortis hospital in 2007 and has performed over 400 such surgeries in Britain.