How to Treat Spider Veins:

Spider veins are a general term for vessels that show through the skin.  As providers we generally break veins down by size.  Telangiectasia are vessels that are less than 1mm.  These are usually pink, red or purple in color.  Many people refer to these vessels as “broken capillaries” although they are actually just intact tiny superficial veins.  Reticular vessels are those that are between 1-4mm and usually blue or slightly green in color.  All veins have one way valves inside them to keep the blood flowing in one direction.  When these valves do not close correctly the blood flows backwards causing the affected vein to get distended and ropy.  These vessels are labeled as “varicose veins”.

0.1-1mm Vessels (Telangiectasia)
The most effective treatment for vessels depends on the type of vein being treated.  For the pink, red and pulple veins that are less than 1mm the Pulsed Dye Laser is by far one of the most safe and effective treatments.  Pulsed Dye Lasers can be used anywhere on the body including the face.   Treatments are quick with minimal discomfort and side effects.  Many vessels can be eradicated in a single treatment.   Other options include electrocautery but it is painful, not as effective and can leave scarring over the treated area.  Sclerotherapy can also work but it can be very difficult to get a needle inside a vessel this small. Although rare, there is a possibility of skin breakdown around the injection site which makes this procedure inappropriate for facial veins.  Other lasers such at the 1064nm Nd:YAG or 532nm KTP can also be used for small veins but tend to not work quite as well on these vessels  or have more side effects than the Pulsed Dye Laser.

 1-2mm Vessels (Small Reticular Veins)
For vessels from 1-2 mm either 1064nm Nd:YAG laser or Sclerotherapy are the treatments of choice.   The Nd:YAG is a laser that penetrates deeper into the skin that the Pulsed Dye which makes it more effective at treating larger vessels.  Most patients will require 1-3 treatments depending on their vessels.  Sclerotherapy involves shooting a solution into the vessel which damages the vessels walls and stop flow.  There are many different solutions on the market.  We use an extremely effective combination of glycerin and STS (Sotradecol) which is made into foam to help it stick to the vessels walls. 

 3-4mm Vessels (Large Reticular Veins)
For these larger vessels, foam sclerotherapy is the treatment of choice.  In many cases a single treatment will cause vessels to disappear.  Read more and see pictures here.

 At the Colorado Center for Photomedicine we also have unique technologies in order to see vessels.  Being able to make sure that no vessels are missed greatly reduces the likelihood of repeated procedures.  We can offer any or all of these services in a single visit.  Also if you have varicose veins we offer the most effective treatment available. Read more about the CoolTouch laser here.   

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 24th, 2010 at 10:36 am and is filed under Articles/Q&A, Spider Veins, Varicose Veins. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.