Spider veins are tiny, web-like veins that are often spotted just beneath your skin’s surface. Since it forms patterns that resemble a spider’s web or tree branches, it gets this name. You can spot spider veins on the chest, face, and legs, and they tend to appear in different colors, such as red, blue, or purple and show up on the legs and face.
While they are usually harmless, spider veins make people feel self-conscious about their appearance. Rather than discomfort, this is seen as a cosmetic problem. If you are either noticed or diagnosed with spider veins and wondering what they are or what can be done about them, you are not alone. Roughly, there are more than 25 million Americans dealing with this.
Rest assured, this can be treated easily. This blog gives you a peek about the advanced spider vein treatments at the center for vein wellness in Beverly Hills.
How do you differentiate spider veins from varicose veins?
Spider veins and varicose veins might look similar. But they have some key differences. Spider veins are small and appear thin and form a web-like pattern on your skin. They are viewed as a cosmetic issue and don’t usually cause much discomfort.
Varicose veins are swollen and twisted. They can bulge out from the skin and appear in shades of blue or dark purple. These veins can be more than just a visual concern, which is why they must be treated immediately. Because these veins pronounce symptoms such as aching, throbbing or a heavy feeling in the legs.
Especially when the valves in the veins fail to work properly. And this makes the blood pool and the veins enlarge.
While spider veins are usually closer to the skin’s surface, they are less about faulty valves and more about tiny blood vessels becoming dilated.
How are spider veins diagnosed?
Spider veins are quickly diagnosed either by performing a physical examination or the doctor may check your legs while you stand and ask about any concerns, like pain or any discomfort you feel in the legs.
Though a visual examination can confirm the case, to medically diagnose it, certain tests, such as a venous Doppler ultrasound of the leg and a venogram, among others, are done.
What are the advanced spider vein treatments?
At the Center for Vein Wellness, located in Beverly Hills & Thousand Oaks, you get advanced spider vein treatments such as:
Sclerotherapy
One of the most common ways of treating spider veins is sclerotherapy. It helps fix the appearance of varicose and spider veins or treat the issues such as aching, swelling and burning caused by this vein problem. This treatment works best for smaller veins and in one session you can get rid of 50 to 80% of injected veins.
How does this treatment work?
Whether you are opting for a sclerotherapy treatment to treat spider veins or cosmetic reasons, know that this is an efficacious one.
Preparation:
Initially, your dermatologist or cosmetic surgeon will examine the affected area and look for any serious venous problems. To confirm the same, scans and photographs are taken for before and after results. Your medical history, including the previous treatments and supplements, is given a quick go-through.
Procedure:
This is a non-surgical, minimally invasive procedure. So, it doesn’t require anesthesia and is performed on the doctor’s outpatient side.
- In sclerotherapy, first the treatment area is cleaned.
- Next, your skin is stretched out around the injection site and a chemical solution is directly injected into the affected vein.
- This solution makes the vein walls swell, then makes them stick together and seal shut.
- In this degree, the blood flow is halted and as a result, the vein fades within a few weeks.
So, based on the size of the spider vein, this solution is injected. Multiple veins can be injected during one treatment session or sometimes the doctor might recommend performing this procedure a few weeks apart.
Is sclerotherapy painful?
You will experience only minor stinging or cramps when the needle is inserted into the vein. For larger veins, you may feel cramping for a minute or two during the injection. If you are facing any discomfort, voice it out to your doctor.
After the injections are done, the doctor will apply pressure and massage the treated area. This is done to keep blood out of the injected vein and disperse the injected solution.
What happens post-surgery?
After your treatment, your provider may ask you to lie down for 15 minutes to monitor if there’s any negative reaction. If everything is normal, you can drive back home and resume your day-to-day activities. But stay away from doing strenuous work.
Things to follow after the procedure:
- It’s recommended to follow these guidelines for 48 hours post-procedure.
- Avoid aspirin, ibuprofen or any kind of anti-inflammatory medication. Unless your doctor prescribes it.
- Clean the injection sites using mild soap and lukewarm water.
- You can take baths but ensure the water is cooler than the room temperature. Avoid hot baths or saunas.
- Stay from the sunlight and don’t apply any hot compresses or any form of heat to the treated areas.
Laser vein treatment
While sclerotherapy is the most effective treatment for spider veins, laser therapy is the second most popular option.
This is a quick, noninvasive procedure that uses a focused beam of light to heat and destroy the affected veins.
Types of laser treatment
A few types of laser treatment for spider veins are:
Surface laser therapy
Though this type is opted to treat larger varicose veins, it is also chosen to treat spider veins.
Here, a focused beam is sent onto the skin where the affected veins can be seen. This targeting heating makes the affected vein collapse. Your skin is heated and cooled down alternatively to prevent burning.
Endovenous laser therapy
This involves inserting a laser probe straight into the affected blood vessel. The intense heat directed on the vein makes it weaken and collapse. Though this treatment is minimally invasive, it requires local anesthesia.
Intense pulsed light therapy
This is similar to laser therapy but the targeted light is directed to the vessels outside the skin.
Preparation to treat spider veins using laser
Your cosmetic surgeon or dermatologist will suggest the best laser treatment by accessing the affected area. In some cases, laser therapy and sclerotherapy treatments are combined to treat certain cases.
Procedure
Let’s take endovenous thermal ablation in detail.
For endovenous thermal ablation, you will be given anesthesia to keep you from feeling pain. You will receive local anesthesia to numb the area around your vein and sedative medications to relax when they start the procedure.
During the procedure,
- The doctor finds your spider vein with an ultrasound and makes a small incision in your leg.
- Now a catheter is inserted into the incision and guided into your vein. Next, radiofrequency waves are sent, which heat the area.
- To keep you comfortable, numbing fluid is injected around the vein using a few small needle pricks. Finally, a simple bandage is placed over the incision. So no stitches are usually needed.
What happens post-surgery?
This treatment takes only three to five minutes and is often an outpatient procedure. So, you can go home after getting treated. Since anesthesia is used, you won’t feel any pain. Maybe post-procedure, you might experience some kind of soreness, tingling feel or minor bruising near the vein that was treated.
Things to follow after the procedure:
- Avoid swimming or bathing in hot tubs
- Wear compression stockings as recommended by the doctor
- Keep the treated part clean and dry
- Avoid prolonged sitting or standing
- Elevate your legs
The Center for Vein Wellness is one of the top spider vein clinics in Beverly Hills. If you want to get your spider veins treated professionally and recover quickly, get in touch.
Other spider vein treatment options are:
- High ligation and vein stripping
This is a minor surgical procedure aimed at removing a damaged vein and preventing further complications of vein damage. If multiple valves in a vein or the vein itself show some serious damage, the vein is removed or stripped. To do this, a small incision is made below the vein. Then, a flexible instrument is slowly mapped to the vein to the first incision and the vein is grasped and removed.
In addition, one or more incisions are made over the damaged veins and the vein is tied off during the surgical procedure. When the damaged valve is tied but beneath that faulty valve, the other valves are healthy, the vein is left to continue circulating blood via other veins as they still have valves that work well.
Since this is a more invasive treatment, recovery can take a bit of extra time. You need to wear compression stockings and avoid strenuous activities for a few weeks or based on your doctor’s recommendation.
This treatment isn’t recommended for pregnant women or individuals who lack normal blood circulation in the arteries of the legs. Older adults who are already dealing with other medical conditions.
- Ambulatory phlebectomy
This minimally invasive procedure is designed to remove the smaller surface veins, such as spider veins.
In this procedure, tiny punctures or small incisions are made along the path of the vein. These incisions are small so they don’t require any stitches.
Using a special hook-like took, the affected vein is pulled out in small segments through the small incisions made.
When compared to vein stripping, this procedure is relatively quick and less invasive. Since this is an outpatient procedure, you can go home the same day.
Final Words
If spider veins are causing discomfort or you are concerned about their appearance on you, either way, you can get it fixed with the advanced spider vein treatment, including spider vein natural treatment at Center For Vein Wellness.
With minimally invasive options by healthcare professionals, you can expect effective results and a faster recovery.
Visit our website to book an appointment with Center for Vein Wellness located in Beverly Hills, Thousand Oaks, Westlake Village, and Oxnard.
