Spider Vein Treatment: What Really Works and What to Expect

If the backs of your knees, thighs, calves, or ankles are marked by sprawling spider vein “webs,” you aren’t alone: More than half of women (50%) and up to 80% of all adults have so-called spider telangiectasias, commonly called spider veins.

Luckily, a specific technique of sclerotherapy performed by a skilled phlebotomist can clear up unwanted spider veins. In this month’s blog, our team at Vascular Vein Centers takes a closer look at this gold-standard treatment for lower extremity spider veins, including how it works and what to expect.  

Understanding how spider veins form

Venous disease occurs on a spectrum, with tiny spider veins forming from small reticular veins. Reticular veins are often called “feeder veins” leading to deeper veins, which can be associated with larger varicose veins. Spider veins then become enlarged and are typically a blueish green color.

Spider veins are much smaller, milder, and more superficial than varicose veins, but they develop similarly, usually through venous dysfunction and reduced circulation. Factors that make spider vein formation more likely include:

• Aging, not uncommon from 30 years old
• Inactivity 
• Excess weight
• Women
• Post Pregnancy
• Smoking 
• Family history

Blood in lower extremity veins works against gravity when you’re stationary, either standing or sitting  for long periods of time. This extra strain — in conjunction with the risk factors above — weakens their internal valves, causing blood to flow backwards, enlarging the veins.

As pooling blood puts pressure on vessel walls, they dilate and swell, leading to the formation of spider veins, or a weblike network of distorted veins sprawled across the skin.

Erase spider veins with sclerotherapy

If spider veins are not associated with venous insufficiency from the larger veins to which they are connected, then spider veins are typically only a  cosmetic issue. In that case they don’t tend to be related to bothersome symptoms and aren’t usually a sign of advanced venous disease. 

Sclerotherapy is an ablative vein treatment that works to painlessly close spider veins from the inside, causing them to fade away.    

How it works

As the go-to solution for lower extremity spider veins, sclerotherapy involves using a thin needle and or a tiny catheter placed appropriately in the tiny vein to inject an FDA-approved sclerosing agent — either a specialized liquid chemical or Varithena® microfoam medication — into the unwanted vein network. 

These agents irritate the lining of the targeted veins, making them swell shut and collapse. Once they’re closed off from your blood supply, the treated veins gradually fade from view.     

What to expect 

At Vascular Vein Centers, sclerotherapy treatment is tailored to your needs, starting with a quick imaging exam in our advanced IAC-accredited ultrasound lab. However, it is important to be aware that spider veins may be the “tip of the iceberg”. Noninvasive ultrasound testing can reveal whether there’s vein dysfunction as a result of the connection between feeder spider veins and larger veins at a deeper level. 

If there is, we treat the larger varicose veins using a combination of endovenous laser therapy and microfoam sclerotherapy including Varithena®. This is critical so that once spider veins are treated, they are less likely to return. 

1. Ultrasound guidance

Next, we can treat the “surface web” of spider veins with ultrasound-guided sclerotherapy. After cleaning the treatment area, our IAC Certified Registered Diagnostic Ultrasound Technologists image vein structure and blood flow with color flow doppler to visualize the vein network.

2. Precision injections

This live, magnified view allows us to inject unwanted spider webs with the utmost precision, and we can get the job done with just a few tiny, well-placed needle pricks. 

3. Compression therapy

After the procedure the injection sites are covered with small bandages. We also place a compression garment on your treated leg. This fitted medical device supports lower-extremity circulation as it fosters optimal vein clearance; you can expect to wear it every day for two weeks, only taking it off when you shower or sleep. Compression stockings have become much more appealing with different styles and colors.

4. Post-treatment care

You can resume most activities following sclerotherapy. At VVC we provide complete post-procedure instructions and our medical providers are happy to take calls regarding further questions afterward and see you for a follow up check.  

5. Spider vein clearance

Sclerotherapy can make very small spider veins shrink significantly — and often disappear completely with quick results, especially if there are no larger vein complications. Most spider veins fade more gradually, clearing from view over three to six weeks. 

A larger spider vein network may respond best to multiple treatments, with each sclerotherapy session scheduled several weeks apart.   

Spider Vein Treatment in Central Florida 

Ready to schedule your spider vein treatment? If you have spider veins we suggest that you do not put off a diagnostic evaluation. As the only IAC dedicated vein treatment center in greater central Florida for both diagnostic and treatment, we can let you know if they are only spider veins or related to larger vein complications. 

Contact Vascular Vein Centers today at 877-244-8558 . We have six Central Florida offices in College Park of Orlando, Kissimmee, Lake Mary, Waterford Lakes of East Orlando, Davenport/Haines City, and The Villages, Florida.