Certain veins in the leg can become “incompetent”, or not function properly. This can cause swelling, pain, varicose veins, and ulcers. If certain superficial veins are dysfunctional and are identified as the culprit of these symptoms, they can be burned, or “ablated” by a simple office procedure. A catheter is inserted into the vein and heat is applied through a special laser to ablate the vein, and thus alleviate the symptoms.