Sclerotherapy – Body Contouring Implants
While doctors don’t fully understand what causes spiders and varicose veins, they do associate factors such as genetics, weight gain and hormonal fluctuations associated with pregnancy, birth control pills and hormone replacement therapy, as well as prolonged sitting or standing.
Some types of spiders and varicose veins, in addition to their unsightly appearance, can be associated with varying degrees of pain and discomfort and in some cases more serious medical conditions.
The most common treatment option available, sclerotherapy is a safe, effective, virtually painless procedure used to treat spider veins and varicose veins throughout the body.
Blood Flow in the Legs
Before you learn how spider veins and varicose veins can be treated using sclerotherapy, you need to understand what causes spider veins and varicose veins.
Your circulatory system is made up of arteries and veins. Arteries carry oxygenated blood from the heart and lungs to the rest of your body. In turn, veins carry blood back to your heart and lungs.
Spider veins and varicose veins most commonly occur in the leg, in what are known as the superficial veins.
This is because the veins in your legs are subject to a great deal of pressure and have to work harder than other types of veins against the force of gravity to move blood upwards to the heart.
What Causes Spider and Varicose Veins?
Blood typically flows from superficial veins to deep veins, which are often interconnected by perforating veins.
Normally functioning veins have one-way valves that prevent blood from flowing backwards in the vein as it moves upwards to the heart and lungs.
If the valves in the perforating veins or superficial veins are not working properly, some blood will be allowed to flow backward and collect in a pool below.
As blood builds up, it puts increased pressure on the vessel walls. And this, in turn, causes the vessels to weaken, enlarge or stretch. As a result, spider veins or varicose veins form in the area.
Differences Between Spider and Varicose Veins
Although they have similar causes, spider veins and varicose veins are not the same thing.
Spider veins are small thread-like veins of blue or reddish color that usually appear under the surface of the skin.
These veins may have a characteristic spider web-like circular pattern or may be independent of other veins.
Unlike spider veins, varicose veins are swollen, twisted cord-like veins that usually rise from the surface of the skin.
Varicose veins, which are usually deeper than spider veins, are tan or blue in appearance.
And it can cause pain, cramping, swelling and fatigue in the legs. While sclerotherapy is used in the treatment of various spiders and varicose veins, surgical treatment may be more appropriate for the treatment of medium and large varicose veins.
How Does Sclerotherapy Work?
During sclerotherapy, a chemical solution known as a sclerosing agent is injected at various points along the spider and varicose veins. Sclerotherapy is usually performed with a concentrated saline solution, although other chemical solutions or special foam can also be used.
The agent irritates the lining of the veins. This causes the vessel walls to collapse with compression after treatment. Over time, the veins will be absorbed by the body and will have a smoother, younger appearance.
Like other vein removal treatments, more than one treatment is usually required to achieve the desired results. But sclerotherapy can significantly reduce the appearance of most spider veins and some small varicose veins.
Procedure Preparation
Sclerotherapy treatments are simple, rapid outpatient procedures, most lasting between 15 and 45 minutes.
Because the procedure is virtually painless, anesthesia is usually not necessary. Before starting your procedure, the treatment area will be thoroughly cleaned, usually with an alcohol-based cleanser.
Sclerotherapy Procedure – Part I
During the procedure, a very fine needle will be used to inject the sclerosing agent at one-inch intervals along the spider or varicose vein.
The sclerosing agent causes the inside of the treated vein to turn white below the skin surface.
Sclerotherapy Procedure – Part II
When injected, the sclerosing agent works by irritating the lining of the vein. And this causes the vein to become inflamed.
Along with compression therapy following the procedure, this inflammation or swelling causes the vessel walls to collapse inward and stick together, closing the vessel completely.
Eventually, the vein will turn into scar tissue and will be absorbed by the body in the weeks following treatment. Collapsed veins will not affect the circulatory system, as blood flow will be diverted from other normally functioning veins.
Post Sclerotherapy Process
It is important that the vessels remain in a collapsed state after injections. Therefore, cotton balls and compression dressings can be applied to the treatment areas. And you may need to wear compression stockings to ensure proper healing.
Compression stockings will help prevent blood clotting in collapsed veins as well as prevent the treated veins from reopening after treatment.
Sclerotherapy Recovery
Following the procedure, you may experience some bruising and brown pigmentation around the treatment areas, although this discoloration will usually fade over time.
Treated veins will begin to fade within a few weeks as the veins turn into scar tissue.
You will most likely go through multiple treatments about 4 to 6 weeks apart to completely cure the veins. Although the number of treatments varies from person to person, most people receive about 2 to 4 treatments.
Sclerotherapy Results
The results of a sclerotherapy procedure can vary depending on the thickness and extent of the veins that require treatment.
It is important to understand that sclerotherapy may not completely eliminate spider or varicose veins and may not prevent the development of new enlarged veins in the future.
You are likely to experience significant improvement in at least half of the treated veins. The remaining veins may show partial healing.
However, sclerotherapy can significantly safely and effectively reduce its overall appearance, giving your skin the smooth appearance you desire.
