Sclerotherapy is a medical procedure involving the reduction of blood flow in blood vessels using chemicals, applicable in the treatment of chronic venous insufficiency and removal of varicose veins, reticular veins and telangiectasias (dilated intradermal veins commonly known as spider veins).
Sclerotherapy is also called vein injection or obliteration.
This procedure is the most popular in modern phlebology, a field of medicine devoted to the venous system.
Preparation for sclerotherapy
Before treatment, depending on the part of the body undergoing the procedure, it is necessary to perform a Doppler ultrasound examination or, for example, a computed tomography scan, which is additionally payable. Sclerotherapy is best performed in winter, autumn and early spring, when the air temperature is not more than 20°C. In turn, a month after each treatment in the series, you should not stay in the temperature above 25 ° C, you should not sunbathe and sunbathe.
The course of sclerotherapy
Smaller procedures are performed without anesthesia, while larger ones are sometimes performed with anesthesia. Sclerotherapy is not experienced by most patients as painful due to the thin needles. A chemical sclerosant is injected into a vein or a network of vessels where an undesirable change occurs.
Its task is to irritate the vessel, cause fibrosis, and thus overgrowth of too much light flow in the vein. Hence the name "sclerotherapy", which comes from the Greek adjective "sclero" meaning hard, dry, rough.
After sclerotherapy
If the sclerotherapy concerned the legs, a compression stocking is put on them, which should be worn for two weeks from the moment of the procedure. The treated area may become blue and painful to the touch for some time, and may sting slightly. About three weeks after the procedure, the absorption of the vessel begins, which lasts for the next few weeks, depending on the size of the lesion.
Advantages of sclerotherapy
The incredible advantage of sclerotherapy is its universality and multitude of types, each of which corresponds to the specific needs of the patient. It is valued by doctors for this and for its high safety, even in the case of complicated venous changes. Patients, in turn, appreciate the lack of pain, non-invasiveness of the procedure, relatively low cost in relation to the effects, short duration of the procedure, as well as short recovery time.
It should be remembered that sclerotherapy is a medical procedure that reduces the risk of venous diseases and the entire venous system. Its purpose was initially prevention and treatment. Only later did sclerotherapy begin to be offered in aesthetic medicine salons.
Who will sclerotherapy not help?
Sclerotherapy is not a procedure recommended for people with venous leg ulcers. In turn, innocent-looking spider veins on the ankles are also extremely difficult to treat.
The procedure can be performed by breastfeeding women, people suffering from migraine and people after thrombosis, but in these cases caution should be exercised.
Contraindications to sclerotherapy
atherosclerosis of the arteries of the lower limbs
heart diseases
allergy to sclerotizing agents
acute venous thrombosis
paralysis, inability to move legs and walk independently
Possible complications after sclerotherapy: