• What are varicose veins?
• What are spider veins?
• Are varicose veins serious?
• How common is venous disease?
• Who gets varicosities?
• What treatment options are available?
• How long do I wait after injection therapy before I exercise?
• Does exercise help or worsen my varicose veins?
• After injection therapy-surgery for your varicose veins, will other veins take their place?
• Do I need to wear support hose indefinitely? Even if my varicose veins are treated?
• Is it painful to have sclerotherapy?
• How do you know if I need sclerotherapy or formal surgery?
• How much bruising and/or swelling can I expect after sclerotherapy or surgery?
• Will my insurance cover sclerotherapy?

Surface veins that have been distended, enlarged and tortuous. They usually occur on the insides and backs of thighs and calves.

Small surface veins that appear bluish-red, arranged like spider bursts. These small vessels favor the insides of the legs, the front of thighs and the inside of the margins of the feet. Spider veins have no adverse effect on the circulation, but women tend to regard them as disfiguring.

Simple varicose veins are usually not serious, however, they can be the cause of disabling symptoms like pain, leg swelling, easy fatigability and tiredness. Long-standing varicose veins can lead to serious complications like thrombophlebitis, skin discoloration, eczema and ulceration.

Very common. An estimated 20-25 million Americans have leg varicosities. 2.5 million suffer from chronic venous insufficiency and about a half million have venous ulcers.

Server risk factors have been identified. Heredity plays a major role, together with diet, obesity, lack of exercise, age, pregnancy and jobs involving much standing or sitting.

The maxim that "prevention is better than the cure" applies no less to venous leg disorders than other illnesses. Along with recommendations on lifestyle, medical stockings are indispensable for anyone with a predisposition to varicose veins or irreversibly damaged veins and valves as an after effect of thrombosis.

Spider veins can be treated very effectively with injection of a sclerosant agent. Small varicose veins too can be treated with sclerotherapy. As sclerosing does not remove the affected vein, sclerosed veins may recur after several years. Sclerosing carried hardly any risk and there is only minimal discomfort to the patient. The patient is normally restricted neither in movement nor in ability to work and is most often pleased with the cosmetic result.

Large protruding varicose veins are usually best treated with outpatient surgery. The traditional "stripping" of the involved varicose veins has been replaced with a new surgical technique that leaves virtually no visible scarring and minimizes postoperative pain. The patient is often able to return to work a few days after surgery.

We encourage patients to ambulate immediately after any injection therapy either for varicose veins or spider veins. However, whenever you are resting you should keep the legs elevated for the first week. We advise against vigorous exercise for the first week after injection therapy; that means no aerobics, stairmasters, running, etc.

Exercise is good for varicose veins. Sitting and standing for long periods of time are bad for your venous system in that it causes a congestion in the lower legs. By moving the calf muscles, which can be done by walking or wiggling of the feet, the blood in the veins is pumped in the direction of the heart. This means that more movement such as going for walks, climbing stairs, gymastics, bicycling, swimming and all sports in which the legs muscles are kept moving is good for your venous system.

Yes.

Anyone with a predisposition to varicose veins will benefit from wearing medical elastic stockings even if the varicose veins have been treated. Ideally that means that you should wear medical support stockings on a daily basis, which most people are not able or willing to do. We therefore recommend using support stockings when you are sitting or standing for long periods of time especially.

There is usually some mild discomfort associated with the injection, which only lasts for a few minutes.

You will usually need an exam by a physician to evaluate which is the best treatment option for you. Often that entails a venous duplex scan to further delineate the underlying venous abnormality before final recommendations can be given.

Most people will experience some mild bruising with injections therapy that will last for one to three weeks after the injection therapy or surgery.

Sclerotherapy for spider veins is usually not covered by the insurance companies. It is considered a cosmetic procedure and therefore the insurance company will not pay for these procedures.

Some insurance companies will cover the expense of injection therapy for symptomatic varicose veins.