Dr Jason Toniolo

Options for vein treatments

How to begin

 The process begins with a visit to your GP to obtain a referral to see Dr. Toniolo. To schedule an initial consultation, please call 4216 7191. During this appointment, Dr. Toniolo will review your medical history, examine your legs, and provide recommendations for treatment. There will be ample time to address any questions you may have…

What tests should I bring?

Before any treatment plan can be enacted, a mapping of the problematic veins must be done with ultrasound first

It is helpful to ask your GP to arrange a venous insufficiency ultrasound (also known as a varicose vein ultrasound). This test can determine which main superficial veins are problematic. If your issue is spider veins, these often arise from a larger vein that is not functioning properly (refluxing) which you may not know about.

Having ultrasounds for each leg that requires treatment done prior to your appointment can expedite your treatment plan.

What treatments are offered?

Dr. Toniolo offers all treatment options for varicose veins and spider veins (thread veins), depending on the underlying cause:

  1. Public hospital open surgery to remove the veins, performed in a public hospital at no cost. 

  2. Private hospital endovenous OR open surgery, available if  you have private health insurance. If you do not have private health insurance, admission to a private hospital as a self funded patient is very expensive

  3. Minimally invasive endovenous ablation performed in Dr. Toniolo’s rooms to remove the veins (this involves an out-of-pocket cost).

  4. Ultrasound guided sclerotherapy: If no larger underlying vein issues are identified, simple sclerotherapy (injections of medication to remove the veins) will likely be sufficient.

    • If an ultrasound identifies underlying varicose veins / refluxing veins, Medicare provides a rebate.
    • If the issue is purely cosmetic, with no underlying varicose veins, medicare does not offer a rebate.

What are the costs?

The costs of your treatment depends on which treatment option you elect to pursue. 

Surgery in the public hospital:
This option is entirely covered by medicare and there will be no cost. The date of your surgery is dictated by NSW health, with varicose vein surgery usually being triaged as a category 3 procedure (1 year wait), unless you are suffering from ulcers due to venous issues.

Surgery in the private hospital:
If you have private health insurance, the out of pocket costs will depend on how much your hospital excess is (set by your agreement with your private insurer), how much the anaesthetist charges and what intervention you are having done and what level of health insurance cover.  Some insurance providers renumerate the surgeon adequately, whereas others do not provide renumeration to make ongoing practice financially feasible.

Procedure in the office
Medicare rebates procedures done within a surgeon’s office at 85% of the MBS fee. Further, a family with out of pocket expenses for services rendered out of a hospital contribute towards the medicare safety net (of $2544.3 as of 2024). Medicare will refund 80% of any out-of-pocket payments above this limit per calendar year, to incetivise treatments to be done out of hospital, as hospital admissions are expensive for medicare.

Where can I find more information?

You can find more information under our ‘conditions treated’ venous section or by clicking the following links:

Varicose veins and varicose vein surgery

Spider veins and sclerotherapy

Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any further questions or need additional information by using the ‘contact us’ button or e-mailing admin@wollongongvascular.com.au

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