Spider Vein Treatments
Written by Dallas Vein Specialists on April 19, 2012
This time of year I see many women who want to improve the appearance of their legs before summer and warmer weather arrive. Some have not worn shorts for years on account of self consciousness or outright embarrassment over the appearance of their legs. Some women with extensive and dense clusters of spider veinshave aching or burning symptoms occurring when standing.
There is no reason patients should have to endure the symptoms or the appearance of unattractive spider veins. Appropriate treatment, which frequently involves sclerotheapy, can easily be performed in the office by an experienced vein specialists. If the spider veins are the result of more complicated vein problems, such a specialist will be able to diagnose this and recommend appropriate treatment.
Typically spider veins are injected with a chemical compound that damages the interior lining of the tiny veins, which sets in motion a chain of events within these veins ending with their disappearance. The treatment is performed using a tiny hypodermic needle. Patients usually report only minor discomfort. Other advantages of sclerotherapy include ease of in-office administration, short treatment duration, and immediate return to usual activities.
There are a number of chemical agents commonly used forsclerotherapy including the most commonly used ones – polidocanol, sotradectyl, and glycerine. Commercials tout the agent Asclera as new and miraculous. In fact Asclera is a brand name for polidocanol, which I have been using for years. Hypertonic saline was a popular agent in the past but now is rarely used on account of pain and a relative high rate of skin damage and ulceration. Vein specialist now generally use agents as effective as the hypertonic saline but without these drawbacks.
Patients considering sclerotherapy to rid their legs of unsightly spider veins would be wise to ask about the sclerosing agent to be used. The physician’s experience with the agents should also be dicussed.