02.16.11
Cosmetic
Treating Spider Veins
Spider veins are enlarged capillary veins that appear in the skin on the surface of the leg. We don't really know what causes these common little veins, but because they are considered unsightly, patients seek to erase them.
It would be great if we could just "ZAP" them with a laser, but laser has not been found to work well in treating spider veins on the leg. Laser can be painful and is not always effective across all different sizes and colors of veins.
Sclerotherapy is the treatment of spider veins by injection of a small amount of medicine into the vein with a very tiny needle. Improvements in medicines used to treat spider veins have led to comfortable treatment with very good clearing of the veins. Treatment sessions take about 20 minutes and patients return to full activity immediately - except refraining from exercise for 36 hours. Two days in support hose is all that is required. Most patients need three visits to resolve their veins.
Veins that disappear are gone forever! New veins can occur slowly over time and are easily touched up. So even if you've had some sclerotherapy in the past you will find that modern sclerotherapy offers effective, comfortable and durable results.
