Varicose Veins? Check Out Sclerotherapy Treatment

A varicose vein is a type of blood vessel with an abnormal function, leading to a twisted appearance that is highly visible from the surface of your skin. These veins tend to be blue or green in color. A vein that is functioning normally will transport blood back to your heart for reoxygenation. Each vein has a one-way valve that ensures that blood flows in only one direction: back to your heart. Varicose veins have dysfunctional valves that cannot prevent blood from flowing back into them, leading to their distorted appearance.

If you have varicose veins, you may not be experiencing any pain. If you do experience symptoms, your veins may appear to be dark blue or purple in color. Their shape tends to be bulging and twisted like cords on your legs. Varicose veins may also cause symptoms like a heavy or achy feeling in your legs, itching around the affected vein, skin discoloration, or pain that grows worse after sitting or standing for a long period. Other symptoms can include throbbing, burning, swelling, and muscle cramping in the affected leg.

Spider veins are like varicose veins, but they are smaller. They also have a somewhat different appearance, with a spider-web shape. They tend to be red or purple in color. Spider veins very rarely cause any symptoms, but they may prompt you into looking for treatment options for cosmetic reasons.

Sclerotherapy is a trusted medical treatment that has been used for decades to eradicate varicose veins, as well as spider veins. It involves an injection of a solution that destroys the vein over time.

During a sclerotherapy treatment, we inject the varicose vein with a special type of sclerosing solution that irritates the walls of the dysfunctional blood vessel. It causes it to swell and eventually collapse. The vein will then be absorbed by your body in time. Its blood will be transported using healthy blood vessels in the vicinity.

Before undergoing this procedure, you will undergo an initial consultation with us so that we can make the determination if this procedure is right for you and your condition. A sclerotherapy procedure is not advised for pregnant women, those with a history of blood clots, and the treatment cannot be performed using a blood vessel that is being considered for a future heart bypass surgery.

If you are ready to take action to remove your varicose veins, please reach out and make an appointment with Cardiac Associates of North Jersey. At our convenient location in Oakland, our caring and dedicated team of professionals will be pleased to answer any questions you may have about sclerotherapy treatment. Contact us today to set up your consultation – we look forward to speaking with you!