Varicose veins in elderly man

[Lucisky]

My partners father is 90. He is great for his age really - lives in a warden asssisted flat, is fully mobile and with it mentally. He has the most dreadful varicose veins I have ever seen ( had them for years) they are like ropes down his legs. They have taken to aching a lot, so he went to the gp. The gp said that the nhs no longer funds treatment for varicose veins, other than support stockings, which he has got. I had a look online, and it says that there as well, as I was a bit disbelieving of this. I am a bit shocked tbh. Apart from getting them done privately, (which would cost 4-5k) he is going to have to live with the pain. Does anyone here have any advice? Has anyone had their veins treated recently, despite what the nhs says? I am just concerned that if he knocks one he could have a bleed and ulceration, which would also be costly in treatment terms. Is there any real danger in leaving them untreated, or are varicose veins just seen as a non medical inconvenience?

My dad who is 83, has awful varicose veins that look like thick knotted rope under the skin. He did have some stripped way back in the 1980's but now the advice is to leave them alone unless they ulcerate.

No one is going to sort VC in a 90 yr old man! Think of the strain the NHS is under.

He needs to wear support stockings or pay to have them done privately.

I do worry about my dad knocking his and setting off a bleed,especially as he is on daily aspirin! I think in the cash starved NHS it is seen mostly as a cosmetic procedure.

Also anaesthetic/post surgery risk is probably higher than the veins becoming ulcerative in someone in their 90's.