Varicose and spider veins are swollen veins that are not only unsightly, but also very painful at times. Sclerotherapy is one of a few specific treatments designed as a means to treat varicose and spider veins. The following is a quick look at what Sclerotherapy is and how it works.
What is Sclerotherapy
Sclerotherapy is a relatively common procedure designed to altogether remove the damaging effects caused by varicose veins. This procedure involves the usage of an injection of what is known as Sclerosant, a special chemical that is designed to scar the lining of the vein. The injection will be placed directly into the varicose vein. This allows for the vein to become damaged, which in turn causes the vein to close. The blood within this vein will then be absorbed within any nearby healthy blood vessels. This greatly helps in taking away the pain caused by varicose veins. While there can be some burning directly after the treatment has been injected, the best aspect of this type of treatment is that there is hardly any necessary recovery time. In fact, you’ll be able to walk immediately and as good as you could before receiving the injections.
Why and When is Sclerotherapy Used as a Form of Treatment
Sclerotherapy is used as a form of treatment in a wide variety of situations. For one, it can be done either with or without having first received surgery. It’s also typically used to treat smaller veins, such as spider veins, that don’t really have that much of a chance of causing further issues. It is often used for treatment on some smaller veins that have returned following a vein-stripping surgery. While it’s commonly used on smaller veins, there are times when it can be used to treat and reduce the size of some larger veins. This is done primarily when the person in question wants to solely use treatment options that are minimally invasive.
How Does Sclerotherapy Work to Treat Spider Veins
Spider veins are essentially smaller varicose veins. The reason that Sclerotherapy is primarily used to treat spider veins is because it tends to have better results in collapsing and eliminating smaller veins. With larger varicose veins, it simply has a lower success rate. Invasive surgical procedures are often what is needed for those with larger varicose veins. The chemical that is injected within the smaller spider veins helps to damage the lining within. This is easier to accomplish with a smaller area of contact. With spider veins, this injection comes with an 80 to 90 percent success rate, while the success rate with larger veins diminishes a lot, though not as significantly.