Fig. 2.

Cartoon of three EVLA heat-transfer mechanisms (excluding direct contact of hot fiber tip and vein wall), which are effective at different time points. The centered EVLA catheter typically has a 3-mm diameter and the tumescent anesthesia forces the vein wall to fold itself over the catheter. Heat diffusion from the hot tip and the optical-thermal interaction have their primary effect about perpendicular to the fiber near the fiber tip, over about 6 mm vein wall length (left arrow) [3]. Boiling bubbles (small spheres) reach distances of about 20 mm (right arrow)