Patent ID: 7524316

Claim:
A method for treating a varicose vein using laser energy to heat and shrink the wall of the vein, comprising the steps of: inserting a laser-emitting member into a varicose vein, said laser-emitting member comprising an optic fiber having a non-expandable spacer coupled to said fiber near its distal end, said spacer having an outer surface capable of contacting an inner wall of the blood vessel to substantially prevent the distal end of said optic fiber from contacting the inner wall of the varicose vein, placing the laser-emitting member at a treatment site within the varicose vein, and emitting laser energy having a wavelength in the range of about 1.2 um to about 2.2 um into the varicose vein through said laser-emitting member to preferentially heat the water in said vein, while longitudinally moving the inserted optic fiber and spacer such that the spacer positions the distal end of the optic fiber away from the inner wall of the varicose vein to substantially prevent the distal end of the optic fiber from contacting the inner wall of the varicose vein.