Varicose veins are not only an unsightly situation that many women fret about as they age, they can also create a painful medical problem. The recent strides in treating them, though, have led to downright ugly legal battles.

Vascular Solutions, Inc. (Nasdaq:VASC), which makes an array of products used in vascular medicine, is one of the players helping to revolutionize treatment of varicose veins using laser technology. The potential market for this small cap is large: more than 60 million Americans have cardiovascular disease, now the leading cause of death in the United States

Vascular Solutions’ lineup falls in five categories: vein products, to treat conditions such as varicose veins; hemostasis products, to halt bleeding; extraction catheters, to remove blood clots primarily after a heart attack; specialty catheters; and access products, to manage puncture sites.

Though the Minneapolis, Minn.-based company is caught up in a slew of patent-infringement battles, it appears to be progressing toward routinely turning a profit.

Since Vascular Solutions introduced its first device in 2000, yearly revenue has climbed to $52.9 million last year from $6.2 million, and its product list now exceeds 40.

In 2007, a 22% revenue rise was matched by a 22% decline in its stock price, reflecting not only the overall stock market retrenchment but also the uncertainty from Vascular Solutions’ legal woes.

Innovation in vascular medicine is on a fast track: laser therapy has reduced varicose vein treatment to a simple outpatient procedure from surgery with a hospital stay, but the risk associated with this progress includes a legal one for device makers. It is a chicken-or-egg situation, to determine who . . .

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