Do spider veins come back after laser treatment? Top FAQs about spider vein treatment in NYC
Do spider veins come back after laser treatment?
One of the most common questions we receive is, “do spider veins come back after laser treatment?” The answer to that question is an unfortunate “yes,” especially if you seek laser therapy for spider veins from medical spas and other cosmetic centers. However, while laser therapy has a high rate of spider vein recurrence, you can opt for other, more comprehensive spider vein treatments with a negligible rate of recurrence.
To understand why spider veins may return after laser therapy and how to prevent them from returning, you need to understand some basics of spider veins and their root cause.
What are spider veins, anyway?
Spider veins are dense clusters of reddish or bluish blood vessels that appear just underneath the skin’s surface. They don’t bulge out of the skin’s surface, like varicose veins, and they usually spread outwards from a central location. They usually appear on the lower extremities of the body, but they can also appear on the face and other parts of the body.
Are spider veins dangerous or only cosmetic?
Most people assume that spider veins are purely cosmetic concerns, but that’s untrue. Spider veins don’t cause any pain or medical problems themselves, but they’re often indicative of underlying chronic venous insufficiency. Venous insufficiency is a circulatory disorder wherein the collapse of vein valves leads to the accumulation of blood in leg veins, eventually leading to vascular dilation and the formation of spider veins and varicose veins.
While spider veins aren’t dangerous, the underlying vein disease is an extremely dangerous condition. If left untreated, chronic venous insufficiency eventually leads to varicose veins, profuse bleeding, leg ulcers, skin discoloration, leg swelling, deep vein thrombosis, and more. That’s why patients with spider veins must seek a thorough evaluation for chronic venous insufficiency. Until the underlying vein disease has been treated, your spider veins will continue returning.
How does laser therapy for spider veins work?
Laser therapy is one of the most popular yet ineffective treatments for spider veins. The popularity of laser therapy can be attributed to the fact that it’s commonly offered by medical spas because it doesn’t have to be performed by vein doctors and experts — even technicians can offer laser therapy. During the procedure, the laser light energy is channeled onto the spider veins — the light energy gradually makes the spider veins shrink and fade away from the skin.
Laser therapy is a purely cosmetic procedure. You need multiple laser therapy sessions to see mild results, and there’s a high rate of spider vein recurrence. That’s because laser therapy doesn’t address the root cause of spider veins — chronic venous insufficiency. Even after the spider veins disappear, blood will continue accumulating in the leg veins because of vein disease, leading to new spider veins. That’s why patients seeking spider vein treatments from medical spas have a high rate of recurrence.
So, what’s the best spider vein treatment?
Sclerotherapy is widely considered the best spider vein treatment because it provides guaranteed results. The vein doctor injects a sclerosant medicine into the spider veins to fuse their walls shut. The sclerosant medicine irritates the spider veins’ walls, turning them into hardened scar tissues eventually metabolized by the body. The spider veins will initially darken, but they’ll soon fade away from your skin within three weeks. The results are guaranteed and dramatic, unlike laser therapy.
However, sclerotherapy also doesn’t address the root cause of spider veins. You should ideally consult vein doctors in New York specializing in comprehensive vein care. The best vein doctors diagnose the root cause of spider veins, i.e., chronic venous insufficiency, and perform comprehensive minimally invasive vein treatments. The vein doctor may use radiofrequency ablation or endovenous laser ablation to destroy the diseased vein responsible for your vein problems and then perform sclerotherapy.
If your spider veins are caused by underlying chronic venous insufficiency, the vein doctor must address the root cause (vein disease) before removing spider veins. Otherwise, it will be like painting over a stained wall instead of fixing the leaky pipes underneath — the spider veins will keep returning, again and again.
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Sclerotherapy vs. laser treatment: which is better for spider veins?
Sclerotherapy is undoubtedly better than laser therapy for spider veins. With laser therapy, you need multiple sessions spaced a few weeks apart to see mild improvements in your spider veins. With sclerotherapy, you can see dramatic results after just one session. That’s because each sclerosant injection definitively removes one spider vein, whereas laser therapy gradually shrinks the existing spider veins over an extended period.
However, laser therapy might be more suitable for the spider veins on the feet and face. That’s because the feet and face are regions with dense vein-artery connections, and it’s risky to inject sclerosant into the arteries. As such, if you have spider veins on the feet or face, your vein doctor may recommend laser therapy instead of sclerotherapy.
How long does spider vein treatment last?
The sclerotherapy spider vein treatment concludes within 30 minutes, and you can resume most of your daily activities immediately. However, if you’re diagnosed with underlying chronic venous insufficiency, you may need to start with another treatment, such as radiofrequency ablation or endovenous laser ablation, so the overall treatment may take around 60 minutes. After the procedure, you can resume your daily activities and work immediately — no downtime.
How long after laser treatment do spider veins disappear?
After sclerotherapy, your spider veins may look darker than they were before. That’s because the sclerosant medicine hardens the spider veins into scar tissues, making them look darker on your skin. After two to three weeks, your body will effectively metabolize the spider veins, making them fade from your skin’s surface. As such, most people see results after three weeks.
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Dr.MICHAEL NGUYEN
Veins Specialist NYC
He leads the team of vein doctors offering the highest level of care at our Spider and Varicose Vein Treatment Center NYC.
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Dr. JUAN D. MONTOYA
Veins Specialists NYC
Highly sought after for his expertise and excellent outcomes in Vein Treatments in Manhattan.
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Dr. SAREH RAJAEE
Veins Specialists NYC
She has extensive experience with vein performing procedures based on New York City.
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