About 55% of women and 40 to 45% of men have to deal with some type of vein problem in their lives. When spider veins appear they can be especially noticeable and embarrassing.
Sclerotherapy treats varicose and spider veins. This procedure is a minimally-invasion outpatient procedure. Sclerotherapy involves injecting a solution directly into the vein. This causes the vein to scar and collapse. Forcing blood to reroute through healthier veins. The collapsed vein is reabsorbed into local tissue and eventually fades.
Telangiectasia is the medical term for spider veins and broken capillaries. These may appear anywhere on the body, typically around the legs. The causes of spider veins on the face may differ from the causes on the legs or other areas. The red or bluish threads are injured veins or capillaries. Spider veins are usually harmless. However, some people have a cosmetic concern over the condition.
Several conditions factor into venous deficiency. This can lead to the development of spider veins. The deficiency comes from a back-flow of blood in the veins, which causes damage to the vessel walls. Prolonged inflammation, high blood pressure, and obesity are some of the causes for the venous deficiency. Sometimes, a non-medical condition causes a venous deficiency. Rubbing or washing the face too hard can cause broken capillaries. Especially around the eye area.
Age is also a contributing factor which causes the weakening of veins and skin. And aging skin can make the spider veins more noticeable. Generally, smaller spider veins are reddish, and larger spider veins are bluish. The color of the spider vein stems from the repair capabilities of the veins affected. The broken capillary in younger skin can delegate its function to a larger vein and remain reddish until it repairs. Aging capillaries may not be able to depend on larger veins to do the job if the larger veins are also broken and weak.
Sclerotherapy Procedure
Treatment for the venous deficiency appearing as spider veins may be an outpatient procedure. This procedure is relatively painless. Because sclerotherapy uses very fine needles, there is no need to make surgical incisions. This makes it one of the best options for treating veins.
During the ultrasound-guided sclerotherapy procedure, an active agent injected into the veins. The active agent used in this treatment is a sclerant or scleution. This dissolves the walls of the dilated blood vessels. The fineness of the needle ensures that the veins or the surrounding tissue are not punctured. The most common chemicals used are sodium tetradecyl sulfate, polidocanol or aethoxysklerol. Also, some forms of mildly-medicated saline solutions could be injected.
The number of veins treated in a single session is decided by the vascular surgeon. Since some time maybe needed for the blood in the veins to re-route itself. The intervening period between every session ensures that the blood supply is not upset. Treating too many veins at one time puts forth the risk of inducing too much pressure on the adjacent vessels. Thus, the injections are gradually administered in succession during every session.
After each procedure, there may be some skin reddening, bruising, and blistering. These side effects subside over a couple of weeks to a couple of months. Most patients resume normal activity with little to no side effects. However, you will need to protect the area(s) treated from sun exposure.
Sclerotherapy facts
- During the sclerotherapy procedure, there is an injection of chemicals into smaller veins. This damages the inner lining and produce a blood clot. As the blood clot is reabsorbed, the vessel is permanently obliterated.
- The choice of the chemical sclerosing agent and its physical form depend on the size of the vessel treated.
- Treatment of the correct vessels can improve the symptoms of venous insufficiency.
- Small superficial vessels are often destroyed for cosmetic reasons.
For additional information on the sclerotherapy treatments, please contact the professional staff here at Coastal Vascular!
