Love Your Legs Again with Sclerotherapy
It’s no secret that varicose veins can be unsightly. Bulging reddish, blueish, and even purpleish enlarged veins popping all over the legs right under the skin. With the summer months upon us, it’s the time of the year people wear less clothing. Shorts instead of pants. Dresses. Skirts. Bathing suits.
If you’ve been suffering from varicose veins, or even spider veins, you’ve been able to hide them away with plenty of layers all fall and winter. Now, it’s going to be harder to keep them under wraps. Don’t avoid getting your veins checked out any longer. Not only will it help you have beautiful skin for the summer, but your health risks will significantly decrease.
At West Florida Vein Center, we offer several procedures that can remove varicose and spider veins. One in particular is sclerotherapy. Sclerotherapy is a simple procedure that involves the injection, via a very fine needle, of a solution that goes into small and medium varicose veins and spider veins. This solution makes the veins shrink, then closing off, which will gradually make them disappear.
This procedure usually lasts around 15 minutes. Few people have reported allergic reactions. For a person who has many spider veins or varicose veins, he or she may require more than one treatment; Dr. Zuzga will determine after the consult if more than one treatment is needed for the patient. For spider veins, sclerotherapy is usually used alongside laser treatment.
The treatment is followed by an itching and burning sensation for about 5 to 15 minutes after, but patients leave the office with no pain. The patient will feel the prick of a tiny needle when it’s inserted into the skin. After the procedure, people can resume their normal life activities immediately. It is in the patient’s best interest to wear compression stockings going forward during long trips, during prolonged standing, or when the legs ache.
Potential side effects of risks from the procedure include: formation of blood clots in the veins, severe inflammation, allergic reactions on the skin, scarring, appearance of reddish blood vessels, and brown splotches. Serious medical complications are rare from this procedure.
Sclerotherapy is a simple procedure that is performed by a vascular surgeon in his office. He injects a saline solution into the affected vein, which causes it to clot and then the vein “shuts down”. Your blood will then find other veins to course through, leaving the “bad vein” to disintegrate and reabsorb into your body. It is a great solution which has practically no down time afterward.
Getting ride of any “embarrassing” varicose veins of spider veins will give you peace of mind. You will be more confident with your physical appearance, and less worried about developing blood clots or pulmonary embolisms from the diseased veins. You can now show your legs off!
If you’d like to learn more about sclerotherapy or want an consultation about your varicose or spider veins, contact Dr. Zuzga of West Coast Florida Vein Center in the Tampa area. To contact Dr Zuzga, click here or call 727-712-3233.