The Latest, Best Procedure To Remove Unsightly Spider Veins
Written by Dallas Vein Specialists on May 6, 2014
At the International Meeting on Aesthetic Phlebology at Trancosa, Bahia, Brazil in March of this year I was impressed with what I saw and heard about how to eradicate spider veins (telangiectases) and prominent blue or green veins (reticular veins) of the legs. I was fortunate to spend extensive time with Dr. Kasuo Miyake, and before returning home, I observed his treatment of patients in his well-known clinic in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Before going to Brazil I believed that in most cases sclerotherapy alone was the best way to remove spider veins and other prominent veins of the skin. Here I am not speaking of bulging varicosities or large bulging veins but the small surface spider veins, which are really telangiectases, and the blue to green appearing veins just below the surface that are so visible in some patients. My treatment approach was to perform sclerotherapy on the spider veins and the larger blue veins beneath the surface of the spider vein clusters. These larger veins are important to treat, as they are the “feeder veins” for the spider veins. This by and large is the approach most vein specialists in the United States and Great Britain use today.
In Brazil and especially in Dr. Miyake’s clinic I clearly found a superior method and was most impressed by the results I was shown. The treatment that Dr. Miyake developed involves 4 modalities, which are application of augmented reality, transdermal laser, sclerotherapy, and cryo application to the skin. His acronym for this is CLaCS, which stand for Cryo Laser, Cryo Sclerotherapy. The key element is the augmented reality made possible by the VeinViewer. This is a device that uses infrared sensing to detect the veins to a depth of 1.0 centimeter below the skin surface and then projects an image in real time back onto the skin. The feeder veins would not be seen without the VeinViewer, but they are clearly seen below and surrounding the spider veins. These feeder veins are treated with the transdermal laser, and the immediate changes in the appearance of the feeder veins indicating an injury are easily seen with the VeinViewer. These feeder veins are then injected with a mild sclerosant solution. Finally the spider veins themselves are targeted with the laser and then injected with a sclerosant as well. Skin anesthesia during treatment is created with a cryo unit that blows cold air on the area of laser application and sclerotherapy. This results in little to no discomfort during the procedure.
Since Dr. Miyake’s development of CLaCS, a number of vein clinics in Brazil use his techniques. Patients in Brazil, who are very conscious of the appearance of their legs in a tropical country with many beautiful beaches, have been the grateful beneficiaries of his innovations. At Dallas Vein Specialists the CLaCS treatment program is now available to all who want better and longer lasting removal of spider vein and unsightly veins of the legs.