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How Long Does Sclerotherapy Last?

How Long Does Sclerotherapy Last?

Varicose veins and spider veins are injured blood vessels that can be seen through the surface of your skin. These damaged veins, which often appear on your calves and thighs, can cause you to develop swelling, discomfort, and other unpleasant symptoms. In addition, these veins can cause you to feel unhappy about your appearance. At the Commonwealth Vein Center in Colonial Heights, Virginia and Richmond, Virginia, we can fix this problem with sclerotherapy.

How Long Does Sclerotherapy Last?

Sclerotherapy is an innovative treatment that is used to treat varicose veins and spider veins on your thighs, calves, and other locations on your body. One of the main benefits of this sclerotherapy treatment is its ability to produce long-lasting effects.

This sclerotherapy treatment will create permanent changes in the appearance of your veins. After we treat your damaged veins, they will become scar tissue and gradually dissolve over time. As a result, these veins will not require future treatment. That said, this treatment will not stop you from developing spider or varicose veins in the future. If these veins bother you, you can address them with additional treatments.

What Is the Difference Between Spider Veins and Varicose Veins?

Varicose veins develop when your larger veins become damaged. These veins, which can be red, blue, or purple, often have a bulging, twisted appearance. It’s common to develop varicose veins in your calves, ankles, and feet. You can also develop varicose veins in your pelvic area, inner thighs, or buttocks when you are pregnant. Varicose veins will sometimes cause you to experience itching, soreness, and other uncomfortable symptoms.

Spider veins are smaller veins that have been damaged. Spider veins, which are also known as thread veins, appear similar to the threads in a spider’s web. Unlike varicose veins, these damaged veins do not bulge out of your skin. Further, spider veins usually do not cause any discomfort or other painful sensations. It’s normal to develop spider veins on your face and legs.

Why Have I Developed Spider and Varicose Veins?

Spider and varicose veins develop when the valves in your blood vessels become weak and damaged. Your veins bring blood from your legs, arms, and other locations in your body toward your heart. Healthy veins have strong valves that help your blood move in the correct direction.

Unfortunately, your valves can become weak or damaged over time. When your valves weaken, they will struggle to keep your blood moving toward your heart. As a result, blood may begin to pool inside your veins. Over time, the amount of blood inside your faulty veins will increase, and this additional blood will put pressure on the walls of your veins. This pressure will cause these veins to increase in size, making them visible through the top layers of your skin.

What Characteristics Enhance My Chances of Developing Vein Issues?

Gender

Women are more likely to develop spider and varicose veins. Older women are especially likely to have varicose veins. Further, going through pregnancy will put stress on a woman’s vascular system and enhance her chances of developing weakened veins. Taking birth control pills or receiving hormonal replacement therapies can also damage the valves in a woman’s veins.

Age

Like the rest of your body, your veins will become weaker and less resilient over time. As a result, you are more likely to suffer from vein issues as you become older.

Lifestyle Behaviors

Certain lifestyle behaviors can weaken your veins. In particular, being overweight can be damaging to your veins. Similarly, sitting or standing for extended periods can hamper your blood flow and harm the valves in your veins.

Family History

Varicose and spider veins run in families. If your mother or father developed damaged veins, you are likely to experience similar issues as you age.

How Does Sclerotherapy Treatment Eliminate My Damaged Veins?

Sclerotherapy uses a minimally invasive process to eliminate your varicose and spider veins. During your appointment, we will inject a specialized solution into your damaged veins. As this solution enters your body, it will irritate your veins.

These veins will close, and your blood will stop flowing through these weakened blood vessels. Instead, your blood will move through your healthy, undamaged veins. Over time, your spider and varicose veins will become scar tissue. Ultimately, these veins will disappear, and you will no longer be able to see them through the surface of your skin.

What Will My Vein Removal Treatment Be Like?

This is a very efficient vein removal technique, and it’s common for the injection process to take about ten to fifteen minutes to complete.

Getting Ready

Since this is a minimally invasive technique, you will not have to follow complex instructions or rules in the days and weeks before your vein removal treatment. However, we may instruct you not to take aspirin, naproxen, or other medications that thin your blood for seven days before your treatment.

Receiving Your Injection

We will prepare your injection site by cleaning and sterilizing your skin. After your skin is clean, we will ask you to lie down and elevate your legs. Next, we will gently inject a specialized solution into your veins.

Aftercare Rules

We may tell you to go on a short walk after you receive your treatment. Walking will help the solution move through your veins. Further, we may ask you to wear compression garments for a while. These garments will improve your blood flow and enable your veins to respond more quickly to your treatment. In addition, we are likely to advise you to avoid taking hot baths and saunas for a couple of days.

How Quickly Will This Treatment Fix My Spider and Varicose Veins?

In general, smaller veins will react more quickly than large veins. If you are using this treatment to address minor vein issues, you should expect to see improvements in the appearance of your target area after about three to six weeks. In contrast, large veins are likely to improve in about three to four months.

How Many Vein Removal Treatments Will I Receive?

If you would like to remove a few minor spider veins on one location on your body, you will probably be able to achieve this goal after you receive one treatment. If you want to eliminate a large number of varicose veins, you will probably need several treatments.

The best way to determine the length of your vein removal treatment plan is to have a consultation with us. After we examine your veins and talk about your desired outcome, we will make an appropriate treatment plan for you.

Can I Use Other Methods to Improve My Spider and Varicose Veins?

At the Commonwealth Vein Center, we can use a variety of state-of-the-art techniques to address your damaged veins.

Varithena

If your damaged veins are causing you discomfort and other negative symptoms, you might be a great candidate for Varithena. This treatment, which is designed to address varicose veins, uses a minimally invasive method to eliminate these damaged blood vessels and improve your quality of life. During your appointment, we will inject a microfoam medication into your veins. Over time, this medication will turn your varicose veins into scar tissue.

You don’t have to receive any incisions during this treatment, and your appointment is likely to take about an hour to complete. After your treatment is finished, you’ll be able to quickly go back to your job and other activities.

ClariVein

ClariVen is an innovative method that uses two different techniques to treat your damaged veins. During your appointment, we will place a sophisticated device into your weakened vein. The tip of this device will rotate as it carefully injects a solution into your vein. The rotation of the device will eliminate the wall of your damaged vein and help the solution close this blood vessel.

Venous Ablation

Venous ablation uses radiofrequency energy to treat varicose veins. Under some circumstances, we may begin your treatment by using a local anesthetic to numb the skin in your target area. Next, we will use small incisions to put a tiny tube into your vein. We will use this tube to send radiofrequency energy into your damaged vein. This energy will increase the temperature of your vein, ultimately forcing it to collapse.

This minimally invasive treatment has a short recovery time. That said, we will instruct you to avoid engaging in rigorous physical activity for a couple of days. You may also need to wear compression garments on your treatment area.

VenaSeal

VenaSeal uses medical adhesive to close your damaged veins. We will begin your VenaSeal treatment by inserting a very small tube into your vein. We will use this tube, which is called a catheter, to put adhesive into your vein. Next, we will use pressure to close your vein, remove the catheter, and put a bandage over your skin.

VenaSeal is very gentle, and you will be able to quickly resume your usual activities. Further, you don’t have to wear compression stockings after your treatment is complete. VenaSeal can close your damaged veins for up to three years.

Phlebectomy

During a phlebectomy treatment, we will use local anesthesia to help you feel comfortable throughout your treatment. Next, we will create very small incisions in your skin. After we have made these incisions, we will remove your varicose veins with a hook-like device. We will wrap up your incisions and put a compression garment on your insertion site.

It’s common for us to combine phlebectomy with other vein removal treatments. In particular, you might benefit from using this treatment in connection with venous ablation.

How Can I Prevent My Veins From Becoming Damaged?

Strengthening your vascular system and living a healthy lifestyle will prolong the benefits of your sclerotherapy treatment and decrease your chances of developing varicose and spider veins in the future. To accomplish this goal, you should exercise regularly and eat a balanced diet that contains high amounts of fiber and low amounts of salt. To avoid putting unnecessary stress on your body, you should also maintain a healthy weight.

Further, you should not wear tight stockings or high heels. In addition, you should not sit or stand for long periods. For instance, when you are working on your computer, you should take frequent breaks to move your body and adjust the position of your legs.

Fix Your Problem Veins

Spider and varicose veins can keep you from feeling confident and happy about the appearance of your legs, thighs, and other areas on your body. Further, these damaged veins may become swollen and uncomfortable. Fortunately, you can easily remove these weakened blood vessels with sclerotherapy treatments. To learn more about this vein removal treatment, contact us at the Commonwealth Vein Center in Colonial Heights, Virginia and Richmond, Virginia.

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