Varicose veins (also called spider veins) are treated with lifestyle changes and medical procedures. The goals of varicose veins treatment are to relieve symptoms, prevent complications, and improve appearance. If varicose veins cause few symptoms, your doctor may simply suggest making lifestyle changes. If your symptoms are more severe, your doctor may recommend one or more medical procedures. For example, you may need a medical procedure if you have a lot of pain, blood clots, or skin disorders caused by your varicose veins.
Some people who have varicose veins choose to have procedures for spider vein removal. Although treatment can help existing varicose veins, it can't keep new varicose veins from forming.
Explore laser treatment
No injections or surgery are required. One vein generally requires four to six treatments, lasting 15 to 20 minutes each. This procedure applies light energy from a laser onto a varicose vein. The laser light makes the vein fade away. Laser treatment mostly is used to treat smaller varicose veins. No cutting or injection of chemicals is involved.
Laser surgery works by sending very strong bursts of light onto the vein that makes the vein slowly fade and disappear. Lasers are very direct and accurate, and only damage the area being treated. All skin types and colors can be safely treated with lasers. The American Academy of Dermatology believes that the new laser technology is more effective with fewer side effects. Laser surgery is more comfortable for patients because there are no needles or incisions. When the laser hits the skin, the patient only feels a small pinch, and the skin is soothed by cooling both before and after the laser is applied. There may be some redness or swelling of the skin right after the treatment, but this disappears within a few days. The skin also may be discolored, but this will disappear within one to two weeks. Treatments last 15 to 20 minutes, and depending on the severity of the veins, two to five treatments are generally needed to remove varicose veins in the legs. Patients can return to normal activity right after treatment.
Although many spider veins in other parts of the body are most often removed through a process called sclerotherapy, facial spider veins are usually too small to be effectively treated in this way. When the veins are small and close to the skin's surface, laser removal is often the most effective treatment.
If you're considering laser removal of spider veins, the following information will provide you with a good introduction to the procedure. For more detailed information about how this procedure may help you, we recommend that you consult a plastic surgeon who is board certified or has completed a residency program that includes instruction in this procedure.