As individuals age, spider and varicose veins appear and increase over time. Many patients are embarrassed by their unsightly appearance and take great care to hide their legs. Others complain of discomfort and the inability to stand for long periods without pain.
Effective, safe, and easy treatments are available that improve this cosmetically undesirable and often painful skin condition.
Sclerotherapy is a chemical injection that is used to treat and eliminate varicose and spider veins.
Spider veins, also known as telangiectasias, are small, sunburst-like blood vessels that are blue, red, or purple in color and usually highly visible. They appear primarily on the legs but may also appear on the face and elsewhere on the body. Spider veins do not serve a physiological purpose, so they can be treated and removed without posing a health problem.
Sclerotherapy is a minimally invasive procedure in which a solution is injected into the vein. Over a period of weeks, the treated vein becomes progressively less noticeable. Patients can resume normal activities immediately following the procedure. They are encouraged to walk in order to increase blood ow through the other veins.
Laser treatment can be a valuable additional treatment. It is especially effective in treating the smallest spider veins that do not respond well to sclerotherapy. It is also used to reduce facial redness that is associated with spider veins.
Varicose veins are larger, dilated blood vessels that may be raised above the skin’s surface and often occur in conjunction with spider veins. Not only are varicose veins unsightly, but they may also develop into significant medical problems. Those that are more than 3-4 mm in diameter may cause spontaneous phlebitis or thrombosis, which can be painful and lead to blood clots, tissue death, and skin ulcerations. Rarely, these ulcers may hemorrhage or become cancerous. Furthermore, thrombosis can lead to pulmonary embolism, or the blockage of a lung vessel.
Most varicose veins will also respond to sclerotherapy. However, for larger varicose veins, ambulatory phlebectomy is an excellent choice. In this procedure performed under local anesthesia, varicose veins are removed through micro-incisions made in the skin. These small, 2mm incisions require no sutures and close naturally.
Ambulatory phlebectomy is safer than traditional vein stripping and achieves cosmetically superior results. Performed under local anesthesia, an ambulatory phlebectomy causes little discomfort, and patients can return to normal activities within hours. Unlike the large scars that result from vein stripping, these micro-incisions leave the patient with virtually no scarring.
Achieving the best results
Through sclerotherapy, laser treatment, and ambulatory phlebectomy, spider and varicose veins can be eliminated. These safe, no-downtime procedures treat the pain, health risks, and undesirable appearance of these veins.
