Should I have my veins treated?
I had sclero done on my rt leg to treat some reticular & spider veins, mainly on my lower legs. I was told I should get the blue veins treated on my upper leg as they are "feeding" the darker blue veins on my lower legs. I don't have any bulging veins. Is this common practice? I'm worried they may have treated veins on my thighs that were perfectly fine, or at least they looked fine. My stains from sclero last long, so worried about how it will look.
Answers from doctors (5)
The presence of reticular and spider veins is primarily a cosmetic concern. You are not jeopardizing your health by not treating them. If you have 'darker blue' veins on your legs that you would like removed, those can be targeted by sclerotherapy. Treating the 'blue' and your 'upper leg' is not going to result in the disappearance of 'darker blue veins' on the 'lower leg'.
Unfortunately, there are providers who attempt to treat every blue vein that they visualize on someone's skin for dubious reasons. These veins are usually not a source of any symptoms and are not the veins that contribute of any skin changes or ulcers of chronic venous insufficiency.
Published on Jul 11, 2012
I agree that treating the feeding (reticular) blue veins should be done because these veins are causing the spider veins. Think of your veins like a tree. Spider veins are the leaves but they are dependent on the branches. However, if your spider veins are only below your knee and the reticular veins in this area have been treated, then I see no reason to treat the upper thigh veins at this time.
Published on Jul 11, 2012
Sclerotherapy is performed for pain and/or cosmesis. Informed consent is advised prior to proceeding.
Published on Jul 11, 2012
Good question. Sometimes spider veins occur in isolation without representing any issue with the underlying veins (veins below the surface which you cannot see), and sometimes they are the visual manifestations of an issue with the underlying veins -- typically what we call venous insufficiency.
We assess whether you may have a condition with your underlying veins using three tools: clinical history (do you have symptoms suggesting underlying venous insufficiency?), physical examination (what do your legs look like?), and screening ultrasound. The latter is an examination that allows us to see the veins below the surface of the skin, as well as the direction of the blood flowing in those veins. Whether or not you may benefit from a further work-up or treatment is a conversation you can have with your clinician.
Published on Jul 11, 2012
You don't have to treat veins that do not cause pain or swelling or other symptoms. Veins are like trees and if you don't kill off the feeder vein, then the branches or small veins will continue to grow. This could be why they are saying this to you.
Published on Jul 11, 2012
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