sclerotherapy

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Sclerotherapy is a medical procedure used to treat varicose and spider veins. Not all doctors who deal with these veins really understand how to treat them properly and this can lead to them returning. I had sclerotherapy when i was 19 and i can safely say that it did not work at all. My varicose veins have returned.

Even after my second operation when i was 32, my varicose veins have returned again. What i am trying to say is, if you opt for sclerotherapy make sure you read up on this procedure and try to find a recommended sclerotherapist, or your problem veins may well return.

Sclerotherapy is the injection of a sclerosing solution into your varicose or spider veins. It is mainly used to treat spider veins, but it can be used for treating varicose veins. When done correctly the spider veins will disappear, however, if the underlying cause of the problem is not found then they will reappear. The underlying cause is usually due to an incompetent larger vein.

An incompetent vein is one in which the valves do not function properly, allowing blood to return through them. A sclerotherapist should usually start with a full medical and physical evaluation. Following this examination you should receive a Doppler examination of your veins. This allows the doctor to hear the sound of your blood flowing through your veins. The doctor will then be able to find any incompetent veins, if there are any.

If there are any incompetent veins then they must be dealt with first as these are the underlying problem for all other vein problems you may have, ie, spider veins. An ultrasound scan will usually come next. An ultrasound machine allows the doctor to see a representation of your venous system on a screen, and also the direction of flow through your veins. If the ultrasound scan shows incompetent veins then you will probably need surgery. If none are found you may be able to have sclerotherapy.

Reticular veins are larger than spider veins and they are the veins from which you get spider veins. They are incompetent veins that have not yet become varicose veins. If these reticular veins are found to be too large then you will need surgery to cure them. If they are not too large then they can be injected using sclerotherapy.

If you go to a doctor or a sclerotherapist you should expect to receive these kinds of procedures before the best course of treatment is advised.

There are two main types of sclerotherapy. Liquid and foam injection. After reading the available studies about these types i think it is best to let you read this information from the National Institute of Clinical Excellence in the UK.

How well does the procedure work?

Several studies compared foam with liquid sclerotherapy. In one, blood flow in the saphenous vein had returned to normal after 3 weeks in twice as many patients who’d had sclerotherapy with foam (84%, 38 out of 45) than with liquid (40%, 17 out of 43). At 6 months, the treated veins had become unblocked in 4% of patients in the foam group (2 out of 45) and 14% of patients in the liquid group (6 out of 43).

In one study, the saphenous vein was successfully blocked in 68% of patients treated with foam (25 out of 37) compared with 18% of patients in the liquid group (7 out of 40). After 1 year, the varicose veins returned in 8% of patients in the foam group and 25% in the liquid group.

In another study, blood flow had returned to normal in more limbs that had been treated with foam (67%) than treated with liquid (47%) by 6 months after the procedure.

Two other studies used foam sclerotherapy. In one, treatment remained successful after nearly 2 years in 97% of the veins that had been treated (109 out of 112). In the other, foam treatment was successful in 93% of patients after 20 to 180 days (158 out of 170). The treatment was given in different ways in both of these studies.