If you see small red or bluish veins showing through the skin on your face or legs, you’ve got spider veins.
These veins, characterized by thin, jagged lines that look like a spider’s web, can make you look years older than your age. They can even make it seem as though you have a problem with alcohol, as excessive alcohol consumption can damage veins and create spider veins.
While spider veins may be embarrassing, they’re not dangerous. Thankfully, today’s modern medicine can eliminate them.
Our board-certified radiologists with REDI Diagnostics Corp in Elmwood Park, New Jersey, routinely treat spider veins. We have the training and equipment to whisk away these troublesome veins that mar the beauty of your skin. Your radiologist offers several ways to eliminate your spider veins and discusses the pros and cons of each type of treatment.
Sclerotherapy is an excellent choice for eliminating spider veins. It’s a minimally invasive solution during which your radiologist injects saline or another solution with an anesthetic into your problem veins.
Once the solution is injected, the veins collapse so that blood can no longer flow through them. Your body absorbs the vein tissue. Small spider veins usually fade completely within 3-6 weeks. You’ll see the final results a month or two later.
Sclerotherapy is a very effective method for eliminating spider veins, with success rates approaching 90%. One session can eliminate 50-80% of your problem veins. You might need more than one sclerotherapy session to achieve the results you desire.
You’ll feel very little discomfort because the injection contains an anesthetic. After your sclerotherapy session, you can resume your daily activities, but you need to wear compression stockings for a couple of weeks.
Varithena uses the same type of procedure as sclerotherapy except a patented chemical solution is used instead of a saline solution. We also use Varithena on large veins, when the procedure may be covered by insurance. Sclerotherapy is usually considered cosmetic and often not covered.
Endovenous laser ablation (EVLA) is a minimally invasive technique that can eliminate your spider veins. If you have varicose veins or veins with clots as well as spider veins, your radiologist may recommend this method. We inject a laser fiber into your problem veins. The laser’s heat energy destroys your problem veins.
Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is similar to EVLA but uses radiofrequency energy instead of laser energy to deconstruct your spider veins. Both have similar effective outcomes.
RFA may cause less discomfort and create less bruising than EVLA. Your radiologist discusses the reasons they would recommend radiofrequency ablation rather than EVLA for spider veins.
Call REDI Diagnostics Corp or book an appointment online today if you have unsightly spider veins. We offer solutions.
