In our past Vein Institute of NJ blog posts, we’ve highlighted some of the new, minimally-invasive treatment modalities that can safely and quickly eliminate varicose veins and spider veins. Sclerotherapy is far from new but it has advanced over time. Here’s what you should know:

Sclerotherapy is among the most popular methods for treating vein conditions. And even though it’s been in use for a long time, it is considered modern, safe and current.

How Has Sclerotherapy Evolved?
With a sclerotherapy treatment, a chemical called a sclerosant is injected directly into the vein. The sclerosant causes the vein to shrink, and then collapse. Over several weeks the body absorbs the collapsed vein and eliminates it.

Sclerotherapy has been used as a treatment for varicose and spider veins for more than 150 years. But that’s not to say there’s nothing new about it. As you can imagine, 150 years ago the sclerosants were not nearly as refined as they are today, and neither were the delivery techniques. Serious complications could easily arise because of the primitive equipment and harsh chemicals used.

LEARN MORE ABOUT VARICOSE VEINS AND TREATMENTS

Today, vascular specialists can draw on a range of safe and effective sclerosants tailored to the condition of each individual patient and vein. And sclerotherapy has taken its place among the minimally-invasive endovenous procedures – so-called because these procedures can be performed directly in the vein - that include laser ablation and radiofrequency ablation.

In endovenous sclerotherapy, a fine needle is guided to the optimum injection site (sometimes using ultrasonographic equipment), and sclerosant is injected directly into even the tiniest of capillaries. Another recent advancement, foam sclerotherapy, combines a foaming agent such as carbon dioxide or air with the sclerosant, allowing treatment of larger varicose veins or larger areas of skin.

Sclerotherapy procedures are FDA approved, require only a few minutes to perform, and normal activities can be resumed immediately afterward. But, performing these procedures properly requires specialized training and equipment. Here at the Vein Institute of New Jersey with seven (7) convenient locations, in Clifton, Livingston, Morristown, Princeton, Rockaway, Shrewsbury and Westfield, our medical staff is comprised exclusively of board certified vascular surgeons. If you’d like to know more about this or any other issue or vein problem, we invite you to arrange a consultation with one of our specialists.

Schedule your visit today! If you’re like our other patients, you’ll wonder why you waited so long to do this.