The demand can partly be explained by the glorious
weather, with women who kept their legs covered up during last year's
soggy summer keen to bare all this year.
Brian Newman, a surgeon who specialises in the
removal of thread veins, said it is also proving popular with active
grandparents who want to look youthful on days out with their
grandchildren.
The technique, properly known as thermo-coagulation, uses microwaves to zap the unsightly veins - abnormally dilated blood vessels lying very close to the surface of the skin.
An
ultra-thin needle which emits a microwave current is poked under the
skin in the problem area. The heat produced causes the sides of the
veins to stick together, stopping the blood-flow that causes the
vessels to show up red or purple.