CHIVA Strategy for the Treatment of Varicose Veins in China- Dr. Smile Medical Group International Vein Center(SIVC）

About Dr. Smile Medical Group

-Overview

Dr. Smile Medical Group, established on July 1, 2014, and headquartered in Shanghai, is China’s first medical group. Founded by the esteemed vascular surgeon Dr. Smile Chang（张强医生）, the group owns a network of lower extremity varicose vein treatment centers located in major cities such as Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, Chengdu, and Jinan. In a landmark move in 2023, it unveiled its first international CHIVA treatment center for varicose veins in Africa, marking the beginning of its global outreach. In 2024, the American Dr. Smile Medical Group began its operations, marking the full-scale initiation of its process of internationalization.

Pioneering in its field, Dr. Smile Medical Group is recognized as the first Chinese medical team to lead and manage the international certification of CHIVA, a specialized global clinical technique. It presides as the primary committee member of the national professional committee for venous diseases and spearheads national medical continuing education projects in this domain. As the host of the Global Venous Forum (GVF) and the online education platform for the Si-Jun International Academy of Venous Diseases, the Group has been instrumental in introducing and adopting various innovative treatment technologies for varicose veins in China, such as Sclerotherapy Endoscopic Perforator Surgery (SEPS), intravenous radiofrequency ablation, and CHIVA.

Revolutionizing the treatment of lower extremity varicose veins, the group has transformed lengthy hospitalizations into approximately one-hour outpatient CHIVA procedures, eliminating the need for patients to wear compression stockings postoperatively. Serving over 20,000 cases to date, the group has achieved a remarkable patient satisfaction rate exceeding 98.2% in 2021.

Dr. Smile is the founder of the Chinese medical group, known as an expert in vascular surgery and a pioneer in the field of venous disease in CHINA. Dr. Smile has continued to explore and innovate in his specialized field and pursued excellence, and has served as the director of a vascular surgery department in three public Grade A hospitals.

Our Mission: Bringing patients a better life through medical innovation.

Our Vision: Collaborating with outstanding doctors worldwide to lead in the treatment of varicose veins.

Our Values: Respect, Collaboration, Innovation, Determination

SIVC

Dr. Smile Vein Center

African First: Dr. Smile Medical Group Leads Breakthrough Varicose Vein CHIVA Treatment in Ethiopia

In Addis Ababa, Dr. Smile Medical Group’s vein center has recently pioneered the first CHIVA treatment for varicose veins in Africa, an innovative approach emphasizing vein preservation, signifying a major breakthrough in the field.

The introduction of CHIVA in Ethiopia highlights Dr. Smile Medical Group’s commitment to advanced, patient-centered vein care. The technique has garnered attention from the medical community, not only for its immediate effectiveness but also as a promising development for the future of varicose vein treatment in Africa.

-Diagnosis of Varicose Veins

In Dr. Smile Medical Group, Your doctor will do a physical exam, including looking at your legs while you’re standing to check for swelling. Your doctor might also ask you to describe the pain and aching in your legs.

-Clinical Examination with Hemodynamic

To diagnose varicose veins, your doctor might recommend a test called Venous hemodynamic assessment. A Doppler hemodynamic ultrasound is a noninvasive test that uses sound waves to look at blood flow.

CHIVA Treatment for Varicose Veins

CHIVA is the French acronym for “Cure conservatrice et Hemodynamique de l’Insuffisance Veineuse en Ambulatoire” (Conservative and Hemodynamic treatment of Venous Insufficiency in the Office). It is a venous conservative therapeutic approach to varicose veins.

The rationale behind this hemodynamic approach to treating the disease is that increased transmural pressure (TMP) is responsible for the progression of the signs and symptoms of varicose veins, such as varicosities, edema, pain, itching, dermatitis, and ulcers.

The CHIVA procedure aims to reduce the pressure by performing 2 or 3 tiny incisions on the skin and ligate the escape point (PE), without destroying the vein drainage network. Daily activities were not affected after treatment, and varicose veins gradually contracted by themselves after 3 months.

Patient & Visitor Information

-Get more information

Make an appointment for a consultation with one of our doctors for answers to more specific questions about your condition: call +(86)17316503023， English customer service Hotline.

-Insurance & Payment

Ask your insurer if varicose vein treatment is a covered expense. If varicose vein treatment is done only to improve the appearance of the legs (for cosmetics), the cost might not be covered by insurance. For your convenience, we accept cash, WeChat Pay, Alipay, and UnionPay. Please ask our staff for details.

-Outpatient Journey

-Complaint

Medical quality and patient experience are of great importance to us, therefore, we have strict regulations on this. Dr. Smile Medical Group members do not take rebates for medical products. None of the members of Dr. Smile Medical Group is allowed to ignore patients, deceive patients, accept cash privately, violate standard medical procedures, sell irrelevant products, or involve in any behavior that harms the interests of patients.

If you encounter any problem that stays unsolved during your medical visit here, please call our complaint number +(86)17316503023. We will carefully verify and reply to you as soon as possible. We appreciate any of your feedback or complaints so that we can always improve our services to benefit more and more patients.