What is Sclerotherapy?

Sclerotherapy is the best treatment for spider veins and small varicose veins. This minimally invasive treatment involves injecting sclerosant medicine into spider veins to seal their vein walls. The sclerosant medicine irritates the walls of the vein, making them stick together and seal shut. This makes the accumulated blood flow into healthier leg veins, thereby improving overall blood circulation.

How Does Sclerotherapy Work?

Sclerotherapy is a minimally invasive procedure wherein a medicine called sclerosant is injected into spider veins. The sclerosant medicine induces chemical damage in the spider veins’ walls, making them develop seal shut and shrink into hardened scar tissues. The accumulated blood reroutes into healthier leg veins, improving overall blood circulation. Over time, as your body metabolizes the spider veins, they disappear from the skin’s surface.

During the sclerotherapy treatment, your vein doctor will elevate your legs and inject sclerosant solution into the spider veins. You need one sclerosant injection per spider vein, so the total number of injections depends on the number of spider veins. If you have a lot of spider veins, you may need to split the entire treatment between two sessions. You might feel a mild cramping or burning sensation when the sclerosant is injected into your spider vein, but there’s no harsh pain or discomfort.

After injecting sclerosant into all the targeted spider veins, the vein doctor will apply pressure on your legs as you stand up to prevent blood from pooling in your legs. You’ll have to wear compression stockings for a few days to facilitate optimal blood circulation, but there’s no social or professional downtime. The entire procedure concludes in 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the number of spider veins and varicose veins.

Will Sclerotherapy Hurt?

Sclerotherapy is a mostly painless and comfortable procedure. You might feel a pinch as the needle enters your skin, and you might experience mild cramping and burning sensations. But these side effects dissipate shortly. Depending on the extent and size of spider veins and varicose veins, you may need more than one session.
What would happen if I let my varicose veins go untreated, or if I seek treatment from an unreputable clinic? Highly trained varicose vein doctors in NYC talk about five risks of not seeking treatment for varicose veins or getting treated in the wrong place.

What are the Advantages & Disadvantages of Sclerotherapy Treatment?

Advantages of Sclerotherapy

Sclerotherapy is a minimally invasive injectable treatment for spider veins and small varicose veins. You don’t need to prepare for the procedure, and there’s no need for extended recovery or downtime. The US Department of Health and Human Services (Office on Women’s Health) states that sclerotherapy treatment is performed within the vein center without any anesthesia. The procedure concludes within 30 minutes, followed by no downtime, so you can resume your daily activities immediately. Our patients love sclerotherapy because they can squeeze it into a busy schedule without any problems.

Disadvantages of Sclerotherapy

Sclerotherapy is the best treatment for spider veins and small varicose veins, but that doesn’t mean it’s perfect. Like all treatments, sclerotherapy also has certain limitations. It’s a cosmetic procedure (not a medical one), so it only treats spider veins and small varicose veins without addressing the underlying vein disease. If you have large varicose veins or venous insufficiency, you may need another procedure with sclerotherapy, such as radiofrequency ablation or VenaSeal. Since it’s a cosmetic procedure, sclerotherapy is less likely to be covered by insurance.
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