Sclerotherapy

Introduction to Sclerotherapy


If you are frustrated by the appearance of varicose or spider veins on your thighs, legs or ankles, you may consider a cosmetic procedure that reduces their appearance. If your veins are causing discomfort that interferes with your daily life, then seeking cosmetic treatment may be essential to your quality of life. Keep reading to learn about one cosmetic treatment that is now offered for both spider veins and varicose veins: sclerotherapy.

What Is Sclerotherapy?

Some of the most popular spider and varicose vein treatments are performed from outside the body with lasers. Sclerotherapy uses an internal approach by injecting medication into the veins in question. A trained, experienced medical professional will insert the medication into each vein using a needle. This is completed in your provider’s office with no anesthesia required, and you will notice your veins becoming less prominent in the weeks following treatment.

What actually causes your veins to lighten and disappear? The medication causes the walls inside the veins to expand and then collapse, and that closes the vein so that blood can no longer pass through. Within three weeks, the vein will lighten with the absence of blood. Eventually, the empty veins become scar tissue no longer utilised for blood transportation.

What to Expect

Even though sclerotherapy is a painless cosmetic procedure, you can expect some swelling after treatment. Your provider may recommend you wear compression socks to help relieve the swelling. These sleeves can also help your veins heal from the procedure correctly.

You may also notice that your veins look a bit worse before they start to look better. You may have bruising around the injection points. Temporary skin irritation such as skin with raised red patches is common, and these patches of skin may itch. Small red blood vessels and/or brown lines may also appear around the treated veins, but you can expect those side effects to go away as your veins heal.

If you do not achieve the results you desire the first time around, your provider may recommend that you treat veins multiple times. You can expect these appointments to be at least a month apart, giving your veins time to heal between treatments. Your medical provider will determine whether you need additional treatments and will schedule the appointments at the optimal time for treatment.

In some cases, small amounts of blood can get trapped inside a vein after treatment. Heat and compression can help with this complication, but it is important to see your medical provider so that they have the chance to drain the blood if necessary.

Ultrasound Sclerotherapy

Modern technology is changing the way cosmetic procedures are performed, and this is true for this treatment as well. Trained practitioners can now use ultrasound technology to perform sclerotherapy.

This option is typically used for patients in need of sclerotherapy after having surgery, but it is also an option when the veins giving you problems are located deeper in your body. Ultrasound images ensure that the veins are targeted accurately even when they cannot be seen from the surface of the body.

Alternatives to Sclerotherapy

While sclerotherapy is not offered by the medical professionals at Advanced Dermatology at this time, we do have alternative treatment options which are just as quick, painless and effective. If you suffer from spider veins or mild to moderate varicose veins, you may consider laser vein removal treatments. These treatments are safe and effective, allowing you to get treated quickly inside the doctor’s office and return to your daily life right away.

8 replies
  1. Mel
    Mel says:

    I got a sneak peek of a brochure my friend was reading today, that she got on the street. It was from a clinic, with all the new and fancy dermatology treatments, that you only wish you could afford. I read one, that stood out to me, and I was like ‘What is Sclerotherapy, anyways?’ Sounded like something from the Frankenstein movies.
    Then I found out it was heaven for the veins. I never knew these clinics actually had treatments for older people like me, who had real troubles. I found out that this actually has some good cause. The vein sclerotherapy treatment is supposed to destroy all the annoying little veins that can be a menace and bother you in your everyday life. I am 50, but I will have to look into it more. I like to be fit, and I don’t want to let myself go and make it even worse. Too bad I didn’t know about it before.

    Reply
  2. Erica
    Erica says:

    Seems promising, but there is just one thing. What is the cost of sclerotherapy? I’m guessing it’s not real surgery so it’s not in that range for sure. That gives me hope. Whatever it is, I’m glad that there are such safe treatments for us troubled by the veins. I have veins all over my legs, and I’ve had them since I was 18… It’s just genetics… So, I was wondering how much does sclerotherapy cost and does it fall under insurance?

    Reply
  3. Antonella
    Antonella says:

    Sclerotherapy has worked great for me, even though I read reviews online that were really harsh. It hurts, it’s bad, it doesn’t give results yada, yada, yada… I have veins all over my ankles… I can’t even wear sandals like a normal woman, it’s so frustrating… It’s not really attractive. The therapy itself is a bit uncomfortable but not painful, at least not to me. You get little shots of medicine into your veins, which makes them dissolve and disappear, like they were never there in the first place. I’m thrilled.

    I have to mention that I did sclerotherapy in Sydney, in a private clinic, which had a great and welcoming staff, and a doctor who was more than willing to answer any question and remove all the doubts I had. I had doubts, because of all the internet reviews! So don’t always believe everyone that hates on something over the Internet. Sometimes it’s just bitter people…

    Reply
  4. Fiona
    Fiona says:

    I’m still a bit sceptic about the sclerotherapy treatment. I’ve read a lot about spider veins and varicose veins. I know that there are various treatment available from laser therapy to compression and stuff like that. I might sound silly, but this one seemed the most medical to me. Medicine injected into veins sounds more scientific. But I was wondering, are there any serious sclerotherapy side effects that aren’t mentioned here?

    Reply
  5. Jacqueline C
    Jacqueline C says:

    This is one of the most honest and clear-cut reviews out there. It shows all the facts you need to know, and if you ever went to a doctor’s office he would tell you the same. I struggled with large veins all over my thighs. I can say that skirts were a big no-no. After I read several Sclerotherapy reviews, I decided to give it a go. I know that those creams don’t do a dang thing for the veins. It’s just folk tale. The sclerotherapy results shown on me were amazing. It’s like I never even had them, they are completely gone, it’s almost impossible to believe.

    The entire experience was more than positive. The treatment itself, yes, it did sting a bit. But I didn’t lay in bed for days or anything like that like mentioned in some of the sclerotherapy reviews I read on the internet. It is nowhere near as bad as some claim it to be. To think that there are people out there struggling with painful and throbbing veins, when there are treatments like this, is just a shame. I have to say this is one of the best things one can choose to do.

    Reply
  6. Natasha
    Natasha says:

    I’ve done sclerotherapy in sydney, so I actually know what it is like and what it can do, I’m not just guessing from what I have heard or read online, or from some pamphlet. The only thing I had trouble with is the sclerotherapy recovery. I had lots of itching in the areas and it was so annoying I couldn’t handle it at all. My doctor didn’t do anything about it though, so… Maybe that shouldn’t have happened, I still don’t know to this day.

    Reply
  7. Laura
    Laura says:

    My clinic has sclerotherapy in Sydney as well, I think by now it’s a pretty modern and common thing. Don’t have the need personally for the sclerotherapy treatment but my mother-in-law was considering it so I looked into it for her. Seems completely legit, just as long as you have it done by a professional. I can say all the best for the guy who does all of my treatments – from chemical peels to skin tightening.

    Reply
  8. Meaghan
    Meaghan says:

    The sclerotherapy results can be great, if you were wondering, but you really do need to go through the entire process a couple of times. Although many of the sclerotherapy reviews out there sugar coat the entire thing, and present it as a magical procedure that will heal you over night, it’s not like that. You need to be real, and not expect much, but be confident that something will happen. The key is to be persistent and find a specialist who will guide you through the entire process and know exactly what you need and make the whole treatment as painless and efficient as it can be for you. It can all be achieved with the right clinic and person. Results are possible, it’s not just a commercial fairy tale that the doctors came up to take your money. It’s really not… medicine has been around for a long time, and we have used injections for years and years now.

    Reply

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