Sclerotherapy: A Cure for Spider Veins

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons reports that over 600,000 Americans had sclerotherapy in 2006, making it one of the top 6 most popular minimally-invasive cosmetic surgery procedures today. Used in the treatment of spider veins, also known as telangiectasias or sunburst varicosities (those tiny, visible, blue and purple vessels which lie just underneath the skin), sclerotherapy has been shown to reduce the appearance of spider veins by up to 50 percent after the first session alone.

Best suited for medium to large spider veins, and occasionally used in the treatment of varicose veins, this relatively painless outpatient procedure involves the injection of a sclerosing solution directly into the spider veins. This process causes them to collapse and fade from view. The treatment may also alleviate the symptoms associated with spider veins, including aching, burning, swelling and night cramps. Depending upon the severity of the problem, a session may take anywhere from five minutes to one hour to complete. As a rule, the treatment of spider veins necessitates two to six sessions spaced one to two months apart.

Following the treatment, patients are instructed to wear ace bandages or compression hose for three to ten days in order to guard against blood clots and promote healing. Cramping in the area of treatment for the first day or two is not uncommon, nor is the incidence of bruising and redness lasting for up to a month. In many cases, brownish pigmentation may occur around the site of injection. This may take up to a year to completely fade. Although most people return to work immediately; exercise, hot baths and alcohol should be avoided for two to three days following the procedure.

As with any surgery, sclerotherapy does carry some risks. Though unlikely, these can include the formation of blood clots in the veins, severe inflammation, adverse allergic reactions to the sclerosing solution, and skin injury that could leave a small but permanent scar. Telangiectatic matting, a side effect in which fine, reddish blood vessels appear around the treated area, may also occur. Under these circumstances, more injections are required.

Although the price of sclerotherapy varies depending upon the extremity of the problem, as well as other factors including variances in surgeon fees, according to the most recent statistics released by the American Society of Plastic Surgery, the average surgeon’s fee in 2006 was $332 per session.