What Is Sclerotherapy or Venous Sclerosis Treatment?
Sclerotherapy, or venous sclerosis treatment, is a minimally invasive procedure that eliminates spider veins and varicose veins. Doctors inject a sclerosing agent, which is an irritant to the vein. This causes the vein to scar shut, forcing blood into a healthier vein that will pump it back to the heart. Varicose veins and spider veins are often the result of broken valves within veins that allow blood to flow in reverse or collect in the vein. This increases pressure on vein walls which causes the enlargement and engorgement that becomes a varicosity, or new dead-end pathways known as spider veins.
Sclerotherapy seals off these defective valves and veins to restore efficient circulation. Click HERE to schedule a sclerotherapy consultation at our renowned California vein center. Our sclerotherapy treatments are quick and painless, and done in under 30 minutes!
Is Sclerotherapy Like Foam Therapy for Varicose Veins?
Sclerotherapy is often referred to as foam therapy for varicose veins. However, sclerosants (like Varithena or Asclera treatment for spider veins) can have liquid, foam, or pre-mixed foam concentrations. Liquid sclerosing agents work great for small spider veins, while large varicose veins might need a foamed formula, so the vein doctor can treat a larger area without dramatically increasing the medicine dosage.
Foam coats vein walls better, so it works best for enlarged blood vessels. Liquid travels through highly tortuous veins easily. Pre-mixed foam doesn’t require the doctor to mix the medicine onsite to create foam, so it has safety advantages, but also moves through veins rapidly, so it requires a skilled vein doctor. Our California vein specialists take each of these factors into consideration when selecting the right venous sclerosis treatment for you.
Is It Both a Varicose Veins and Spider Veins Treatment?
Yes, sclerotherapy is used as both a varicose veins and spider veins treatment. For larger varicose veins, however, some patients will need a dual approach, like a ClariVein procedure that combines sclerosants with a mechanical disruption of the vein, which is conducted with a special catheter that rotates and secretes sclerosing medicines.
Is It the Best Varicose Veins and Spider Veins Treatment?
Sclerotherapy is the most common spider vein treatment. Varicose veins, especially small ones, also respond well to sclerotherapy. However, some patients with a larger vein, severe varicosities, blood clots, or advanced vein disease might be better suited to thermal ablation tactics like radiofrequency ablation, or vein adhesives like VenaSeal.
Our California vein doctors are experts at determining the best course of action for your veins. We study your medical history, venous anatomy, and symptoms, as well as any prior treatment attempts, to create your treatment plan. There is no single treatment that’s best for everyone. However, sclerotherapy has a long track record of success.
Is Sclerotherapy Mostly for Cosmetic Varicose Vein Removal?
While some patients choose sclerotherapy for cosmetic varicose vein removal or spider vein treatment, other patients use it to alleviate vein diseases like Chronic Venous Insufficiency and bothersome symptoms like leg swelling, cramping, heaviness, and venous stasis. Most varicose veins and spider veins, while superficial in appearance, actually stem from a deeper issue like vein disease.
So, if you want to eradicate spider or varicose veins permanently, you have to investigate the cause. Our award-winning CA vein center treats both vein disease and visible vein damage with the same procedure. We eliminate the problem, not just the cosmetic result of the issue. As such, our patients are thrilled that they no longer have spider veins and varicose veins appearing on their legs.
Can Varicose Veins Return After Treatment by Sclerotherapy?
Certain vein centers, particularly those that don’t specialize in vein medicine (dermatologists, day spas), only perform surface vein treatments. These might include topical lasers or sclerotherapy injections on spider veins in the face. These facilities don’t treat the underlying disease, which is the primary producer of spider veins, and especially varicose veins.
If the causative disease is not addressed, varicose veins and spider veins will continue to form, because a broken valve is still allowing blood to collect or regress in a deep vein that feeds surface veins. So, will a varicose vein return after proper treatment? That’s not likely. Will new varicose veins form if the cause isn’t treated? That’s very likely.
Is Sclerotherapy a Form of Collapsed Vein Treatment?
Some patients confuse sclerotherapy with collapsed vein treatment. A collapsed vein is one that closes in on itself following repeated injections (illicit drug use, treatment for chronic illness). This unintended vein closure often requires treatment in order to repair circulation. Sclerotherapy is basically the opposite of that scenario. In this case, vein doctors intentionally collapse a vein that’s failing to pump blood efficiently and reroute it into healthier veins. This is a therapeutic collapse of the vein, rather than an undesirable vein failure.
Is Varicose or Spider Vein Removal by Sclerotherapy Costly?
One of the best things about sclerotherapy is that it has a long track record of safety and efficacy, which means most insurance carriers cover the procedure. This is a low-risk vein treatment since it doesn’t involve surgery, general anesthesia, hospitalization, or lasers, so it’s one of the most affordable options for patients. For most people, the sclerotherapy cost is completely covered by insurance. If you’re considering spider vein removal, ask our vein doctors about sclerotherapy today. You’ll be surprised how quick, affordable, and easy it is to restore the health and beauty of your veins.
Are There Varicose Vein Treatment Risks with Sclerotherapy?
Every medical procedure has an element of risk, but varicose vein treatment risks with sclerotherapy are remarkably low. Vein surgeries like phlebectomy and certain thermal procedures like endovenous laser therapy have higher risks of discomfort, scar tissue, infection, or side effects. Other procedures that include ingredients like tumescent anesthesia or cyanoacrylate glue might cause an allergic reaction in certain patients.
Sclerotherapy treatments pose negligible risks and are well-tolerated by a wide range of patients. However, brown lines or spots at the needle’s insertion point are possible with sclerotherapy. These fade over time and doctors can recommend topical lightening agents to speed the process if needed. In very rare cases, blood clot, infection, air bubbles, or allergic reaction are possible. Our vein doctors preempt these risks with tactics like allergy testing, compression pads, and cleaning the treated areas before injection.
What Can Get Rid of Varicose Veins Besides Sclerotherapy?
Sclerotherapy is an excellent option for spider veins and varicose veins, but it’s not the only option. In fact, some patients’ varicosities are so large that another method is recommended. These alternatives include radiofrequency ablation (heating the vein to close it) and vein adhesives (gluing the vein shut), as well as combination tactics like ClariVein (mechanically and chemically irritating the vein to prompt closure in treated areas).
Both spider veins and varicose veins can be treated with more than one method, which is why it’s important to choose a vein doctor who sees you as an individual. Our Harvard-trained vein specialists customize care to suit your needs and preferences, and we’re never satisfied until we exceed your expectations. Our recommendation for sclerotherapy depends on the size of your vein, but also on individual factors. With our caring and approachable physicians, you’ll be part of each step of the process, including treatment selection.
Varicose Vein Treatment Before and After: Which Doctor Wins?
If you’re searching for “sclerotherapy near me” in California, choose our premier CA vein doctors. Vein centers have various qualifications. Some are accredited and run by board certified doctors, while others haven’t completed any assessments of their skills or facilities, and their vein “specialists” are not vein doctors.
Treating varicose veins must include identifying the cause if you want the results to last. Our vein center has received numerous awards and accolades for superior training, technique, and patient experience. Our procedures and outcomes have been thoroughly studied and approved by the Intersocietal Accreditation Commission, which places us in an elite circle of supremely proficient vein centers. Select us for unparalleled results.