Losing weight, getting plenty of exercise, elevating your legs when you’re seated, and wearing fitted compression garments can ease bothersome varicose vein symptoms and reduce your risk of developing vessel-distorting damage, dysfunction, and inflammation in other leg veins.
Unfortunately, lifestyle changes won’t make existing varicose veins — or even smaller spider veins — disappear. Luckily, there are several minimally invasive vascular treatments that can do just that.
As vascular experts who offer a full scope of vein solutions at Somerset Surgical Associates, LLC, in Somerville, New Jersey, our seasoned team typically recommends sclerotherapy for small to mid-sized varicose veins as well as sprawling spider veins that are fully visible along your skin.
Here’s what you can expect before, during, and after this quick and highly effective in-office vein removal procedure.
How sclerotherapy erases unwanted veins
Sclerotherapy is the go-to solution for unwanted veins, including small to mid-sized varicose veins as well as web-like networks of smaller spider veins. Sclerotherapy can be done:
- Visually, to treat fully perceivable veins just beneath the skin
- With ultrasound guidance, to treat veins that twist inward in areas
By injecting a sclerosing agent into the problematic vein, this minimally invasive treatment irritates the vessel’s inner lining, causing it to swell, collapse, and seal shut. As your blood flow reroutes itself to healthy nearby veins, the treated vein gradually fades away.
We perform sclerotherapy with Varithena®, an FDA-approved microfoam medication that can treat varicose veins and spider veins above or below the knee. In addition to erasing these unwanted veins from view, Varithena helps alleviate vein-related symptoms like leg pain and swelling.
Before, during, and after sclerotherapy
Varithena is an easy and virtually painless in-office vein removal treatment that typically takes less than one hour to complete. Here’s what you can expect:
Before your session
Sclerotherapy with Varithena is a nonsurgical vein treatment that requires little advanced preparation. After marking the unwanted vein, we simply numb the predetermined injection sites, and you’re ready for the treatment. We can treat multiple problematic veins in a single sclerotherapy session.
During the treatment
Using a small needle, we inject the microfoam medication into your damaged leg vein at each of the predetermined points. With just one or two gentle needle sticks, the microfoam:
- Enters the unwanted varicose or spider vein
- Expands, irritating the surrounding vessel wall
- Causes the vein to swell and collapse inward
Your blood flow naturally redirects itself to healthy nearby veins as your treated vein swells shut. The remaining microfoam disperses in your bloodstream and gets flushed away by your lymphatic system.
After sclerotherapy
After we cover the injection sites with bandages, we place a compression garment on your treated leg. This fitted, medical-grade device provides a “vascular assist” that prevents blood pooling and fluid buildup, assists lower extremity circulation, and supports better vein health.
You can expect to wear your compression garment every day for a full two weeks, only taking it off when you sleep at night. Our team ensures you know how to don, remove, and care for your compression garment before you leave our office.
You can resume normal activities right after the procedure, except for vigorous exercise, which you should avoid for one week, and long stretches of inactivity (i.e., lengthy air or car travel), which you should avoid for one month. Daily walks support improved circulation.
The most common sclerotherapy side effects — including general leg discomfort and bruising at the injection site — tend to be mild and temporary, often resolving within a few hours.
Vein-clearing results
Following sclerotherapy, your treated vein forms into harmless scar tissue that your body reabsorbs, causing it to progressively fade from view. Most microfoam-treated veins fade significantly or disappear completely within a few weeks.
Minimally invasive and maximally effective
Varithena microfoam is so effective for getting rid of unwanted varicose veins and spider veins that most people get the results they’re after with just one quick sclerotherapy session.
If you’re ready to say good-bye to unwanted varicose veins, we can help. To learn more about sclerotherapy and other varicose vein solutions at Somerset Surgical Associates, LLC, give us a call today, or click online to schedule a visit at any of our offices in Somerville, Hillsborough, or Somerset, New Jersey any time.
