Varicose and spider veins can appear at almost any point in your life and without much warning. These veins can be highly visible and tend to appear on the legs and thighs. For many patients, they come with no symptoms, but others may experience aching pain and discomfort. With sclerotherapy, you can fully remove problem veins and restore your legs to a smooth and refreshed look.

At Greenbrae Dermatology, our team of board-certified dermatologists is dedicated to helping our patients look and feel better about their skin every day of their life. Our goal is to provide top-of-the-line cosmetic and non-surgical treatments to our patients to help them achieve clear and healthy skin free from spider or varicose veins.

How Sclerotherapy can improve your skin’s appearance

Sclerotherapy works by using a combination of a medical injection and your body’s natural functions to reduce and remove varicose veins and spider veins. We inject a special formula directly into the veins you want to remove. This formula causes the vein to collapse and scar. Your body then naturally redirects blood to other veins and vessels while absorbing the scarred one back into the surrounding tissue. In only a matter of weeks, you can get rid of varicose or spider veins that might have been bothering you for years. Once your treatment is complete, your skin should be clear and vibrant.

After their veins have disappeared, many patients prefer to enjoy other non-surgical treatments to improve the texture and appearance of their skin. Our dermatologist can discuss all your options with you during your consultation to build an in-depth rejuvenation plan.

What is the treatment like?

Sclerotherapy is about as simple a procedure as possible. Once you come into the office, we clean the treatment area. Then we carefully inject the sclerotherapy solution into the target veins. We then massage the injection area briefly to ensure the solution disperses well and evenly. If you have more than one vein to treat, we then repeat the process for the next varicose or spider vein.

That is all there is to it! No incisions or spending hours under anesthesia. Though the procedure is quick, it provides stunning and long-lasting results. 

You can even resume walking around after the treatment. We may also have you wear compression stockings for a week or two after the treatment to keep the targeted veins compressed. Though you can drive, we usually advise patients to have someone drive them home after treatment.

Patients may experience some bruising, redness, or minor changes in color around the treated vein. However, these are all normal and generally fade within a few days.

Is Sclerotherapy right for me?

If you have varicose veins or spider veins that you want to get rid of, then sclerotherapy could be for you. This non-surgical vein treatment is highly effective and produces excellent results. When you come in for your consultation, our dermatologist can examine your veins and see if this treatment would work for you. 

Based on the type and size of the veins you want removed, we can build a personalized treatment plan. We customize every aspect of your treatment to help you enjoy optimal results and say goodbye to those veins!

When can I see results?

After your sclerotherapy injection, you can sit back and relax. As the injection interacts with the veins, it can take some time for them to disappear. For most patients, this takes only a few weeks. For patients who are treating larger veins, it can occasionally take over a month to get your full results.

Once the vein has collapsed and been reabsorbed into the surrounding tissue, it is gone. By this point, you should no longer be able to see the vein, and it won’t be coming back. However, it is still important to maintain care to keep your veins healthy in the future. Certain diets and habits can increase the likelihood of developing other varicose veins in the future.

In most cases, patients can see the results they want from only a single sclerotherapy session. However, patients with significantly larger varicose veins may require one or two follow-up treatments to fully remove the target veins. We will let you know during your consultation if this might be the case.

Take the first step to getting rid of varicose and spider veins today when you schedule your consultation. Our board-certified dermatologists have years of experience and has carefully created advanced and improved methods for helping our patients achieve clear skin without visible veins. Call us today to learn more about sclerotherapy in Greenbrae and get started on your path to clearer skin. We look forward to working with you.