I had sclerotherapy for spider veins and reticular veins behind the knees 16 days ago. My spider veins started to fade, but the reticular veins have not. When can I expect to see results?
After sclerotherapy, it could take up to six weeks to 2 months or more to see full results. If foam or liquid sclerotherapy is used, veins could look worse before improvement is seen. This reaction is normal. My recommendation is to stay out of direct sunlight for 3 to 4 weeks after the treatment. It is also recommended you follow up at 6 weeks after treatment to reassess. You should be evaluated for chronic venous insufficiency before anything is done to make sure to not only take care of the cosmetic concerns, but also treat the underlying cause of the superficial changes that are seen. The underlying cause is called venous insufficiency or venous reflux.
Published on Jul 11, 2012
Reticular veins should turn color a bit and will take months to fade as they are larger and deeper and the blood needs to be metabolized by the body (much as a bruise needs to be "digested").
Published on Jul 11, 2012
One treatment alone may not resolve all your vein issues (spider & reticular veins). You will usually need multiple treatments in one area to start seeing good to better results.
Published on Jul 11, 2012
It may take even a few months and a few more treatments. Many times, one session is not enough to close those veins down.
Published on Jul 11, 2012
I normally advise my patients that they may not see too much clearing after the first treatment. The second treatment at 4-6 weeks produces more results. Larger veins take a longer time to resolve and are more visible after the treatments. It can take an average of 3-5 treatments to resolve an area of veins and 70-80 percent clearing is considered a good result.
Published on Jul 11, 2012
Maybe they didn't inject your reticular veins. I suggest waiting a month between treatments. Whatever you see then needs to be treated again.
Published on Jul 11, 2012
Sclerotherapy, when done properly, normally means it will take just 3-4 days for you to start to see some improvements. That being said, proper treatment of spiders and reticular veins involves treating the entire leg; not just a specific spot. Your vein structure is like a 3D spider web. Everything is interconnected. Treating one spot and nothing else feeding it often leads to a failed treatment. Proper treatment normally requires multiple treatments to effectively get rid of the reticular veins and spider veins. One treatment normally is not sufficient to treat these types of veins.
Published on Jul 11, 2012
We tell our patients to give each session of sclerotherapy a full six weeks (post procedure) before assessing the results and deciding if things are progressing as desired.
Published on Jul 11, 2012
Be advised:
1) Not every vein closes 100% with one session.
2) 100% closure is required for lasting results.
3) Reticulars are larger and require more treatment as a rule.
4) Treated veins look worse for a few weeks before looking better.
5) By 4 to 6 weeks your doctor can tell if additional sclero is needed.
6) 2 to 3 sessions is average for most legs, some can take up to 10 sessions
(very severe cases)
7) compression pads help alot behind the knee for a few days after reticular
vein sclero
Published on Jul 11, 2012
It can take longer for reticular veins to heal and be re absorbed by your
body. Pending the size of the vein, the larger the veins are, the longer it
takes to heal and go away. Some veins may need additional treatment. Some
veins have layers to them and don't take up all the medication, requiring
additional treatment.
Published on Jul 11, 2012
Those veins might take up to 6-8 weeks, if by then are still visible you might need them re-injected
Published on Jul 11, 2012
Sclerotherapy treatments are usually scheduled about 6 weeks apart since it takes about 6 weeks to see the full results of sclerotherapy. Sclerotherapy is a process and you cannot expect all of your veins to resolve with just one treatment. Both the spider and the reticulars may require more than one treatment.
Published on Jul 11, 2012
Reticular veins which have been treated may take months to shrink and disappear. If the reticular veins were not effectively treated, they will still be obvious after 2-4 months.
Published on Jul 11, 2012