BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -- A local vascular surgeon is pioneering the 'lunch break surgery' using a new FDA-cleared catheter procedure that uses a "microwave on a stick" to treat the painful veins. It takes just minutes, meaning a person can simply do it on their lunch break and be back at work an hour later.

Half of people over 50 have varicose veins, and two-thirds of all patients are women, adding up to to 30 million people total. Since the 1930s, treatment to cure and correct these swelling, painful veins has been extensive, with a long recovery period.

"You had to surgically remove that vein, which is the old stripping operation," Dr. Greg Williams said. "It accomplished the same thing, it just required, for the most part, general anesthesia and has a fairly significant outcome in missing work."

But a new procedure is changing that. Nicknamed the 'lunch break surgery,' the South Valley Vein Center downtown is implementing a new catheter procedure that uses a radiofrequency to heat and seal the vein in a matter of minutes.

"The actual doing the procedure is just two or three minutes, but it takes a while to put the catheter in," Dr. Williams said. "So patients are in the, if you want to call it an operating room, for 20 to 25 minutes, maybe in the office for a total of 40 minutes on the day of the procedure."

Whether people get the treatment for cosmetic reasons or pain solution, Dr. Williams says the outcome is the same.

"Vein symptoms aren't so disabling that they keep people from work, and it's one of those things you just learn to kind of live with," Dr. Williams said. "But when the treatement is complete and after they're finished wearing their stockings, they're surprised at how much more energy, how much lighter their legs feel."

Because varicose veins are a serious medical condition and not considered a cosmetic surgery, the procedure is covered by Medicare and health insurance.