Let’s talk about those pesky little spider veins, reticular veins and the constantly aching varicose veins.
What are they? Well, these are very superficial veins/venules that due to one or more reasons are unable to flow back up to the heart. Most commonly due to superficial valvular disease but can also be due to calf muscle pump failure, phlebitis or genetic reasons to name a few.
Options offered include: Well, fortunately at Young and Wouters Vein clinic and Rejuvenation Dermatology we offer leading edge treatment options with an exceptionally skilled team to leave your legs feeling youthful again. Options include:
- Laser treatment for the most superficial veins
- Liquid or foam sclerotherapy to close the spider or reticular veins
- Ultrasound guided foam or liquid sclerotherapy to close the compromised saphenous vein or whatever vein is the source of our issue, ensuring we treat the true problem and not simply what is visible
What is the best treatment option?
Our favourite option for non surgical procedure would be Ultrasound guided sclerotherapy. Now to understand why, I’ll try to give an example. The pesky little VISIBLE spider veins, reticular or varicose veins are usually due to an underlying problem that are causing them to become visible, so unless we can use an ultrasound to find the source of the issue and treat that source, then we are not really treating the entire problem. It would be as if we had a hole on the roof of our house and instead of patching up this hole, we simply just clean the floor of the house every time it rains…This would not be practical as each rainfall would lead to the floor getting wet again and this vicious cycle would continue. This is similar to just treating the very visible spider veins without double checking to ensure the veins above the spider veins are not compromised. So, let us figure out where the issue is and together come up with a treatment plan.
What can I do as a prevention?
Compressions stockings, exercise, weight loss, moving your legs frequently and limiting the amount of time wearing high heels are all highly recommended!
