Spider Vein Treatment Options
The realization that you have varicose veins or spider veins can make your heart sink. These veins can make you feel self-conscious and reluctant to wear shorts, skirts and sandals for fear your veins will show. Varicose veins are knotted, dark-bluish veins in your lower legs, while spider veins are smaller, twisted, blue, red, or purple veins on your arms, legs, chest, back, or neck.
Varicose and spider veins can be unsightly, but they can also be a sign of a shortcoming in your circulation. If you have varicose or spider veins, you may need to visit a vein doctor for sclerotherapy or other options, such as microphlebectomy or laser ablation. Following is some basic information to know about your spider vein treatment options for varicose and spider veins, as well as what to expect you’re your vascular surgeon.
Sclerotherapy and Other Treatment Options
The ideal choice of vein treatment depends on the size of your varicose or spider veins, as well as what your vein doctors recommend. Here are some possibilities.
- Sclerotherapy is the use of injection of a chemical solution into the vein to make the vein walls collapse. This lets the blood flow away from the area so the vein disappears.
- Radiofrequency closure, or Venefit, which uses a catheter to deliver beams of energy to the vein. This destroys the vein walls and the varicose vein.
- Laser ablation, or EVLT, which uses laser pulses, delivered with a catheter, to seal up the vein. Blood can no longer pass through, so the vein disappears.
- Microphlebectomy, or removal of bulging skin surface veins through tiny punctures in the skin.
What to Expect from Vein Doctors
Going to see a vascular surgeon for vein treatment is not as big a deal as it may first seem. You can research clinics online, ask for recommendations from friends or get a referral from your regular doctor. Make an appointment, and be prepared to discuss your concerns and vein treatment options with the doctor. Then you can set a course of treatment that makes you feel comfortable. Northwest Vein & Aesthetic Center offers a no-obligation free screening evaluation where you can discuss treatments and explore different options.
The procedures are minimally invasive, and do not take very long – each session can take from 15 minutes to an hour. You will not need to abstain from regular activities such as walking. Often, you can continue working and go back to walking immediately. You can see results with one session, and it may take a few weeks or months to see final results, depending on the treatment type and on your own body’s response to the treatment.
There is no need to live with varicose veins or spider veins if they are bothering you. Find a vascular surgeon who is accepting patients, and make your first appointment. The rest of the process can be just as easy as that first step, and you may be very happy with the results.
