We all take pride in the healthy, youthful, smooth appearance of our skin. However, as your body changes throughout your life, you may notice the onset of spider veins. These ragged formations of red, blue, or purple lines branch out over the body, often the legs, and can lead to embarrassment and shame. In severe cases, you can also experience pain, swelling, and bruising around your spider veins. Fortunately, Beach Cities Vein in El Segundo, CA is here to help with laser spider vein treatment options!
There are simple, safe, effective treatments that can restore your confidence and eliminate the need to hide spider veins. If you are curious about treatment options for your spider veins, below are some of the most commonly asked questions about laser spider vein treatment.
What Are Spider Veins?
Spider veins are damaged blood vessels that appear when the one-way valves in these blood vessels grow weak. Healthy, strong valves push the blood through the veins back to the heart. As these valves weaken, blood flow stalls, causing blood to pool in the veins. Eventually, the veins will swell and become visible on the surface of the skin. These are spider veins. Spider veins appear as clusters of red, purple, or blue lines on the skin, often resembling spider webs. Veins can radiate out from the clusters along the skin, branching up, down, or around your legs. They are most common on the thighs, the calves, and even the ankles.
Who Is At Risk For Spider Veins?
Anyone can develop spider veins. Most people notice spider veins as they get older, but it is not unusual for some people to develop them at a young age. Hormonal changes, genetic predisposition, sudden and drastic weight loss or gain, extensive sunlight, severe injury, pregnancy, advancing age, and sitting or standing for long periods of time all may increase your likelihood of developing spider veins.
How Are Spider Veins Treated?
One common, safe, and effective method for treating spider veins is laser spider vein treatment. This is an outpatient treatment with a low risk of damage to the surrounding skin. A doctor will direct heat from lasers toward visible spider veins, which causes them to collapse and disappear over time. No stitches are required.
There are two primary methods of laser spider vein treatment:
Surface Laser Treatment
Surface laser treatment is a non-invasive method used to treat smaller, less severe spider veins. Laser light is directed onto the visible spider veins, and the heat energy causes the veins to collapse. Over time, the appearance of the veins fades away.
Endovenous Laser Treatment
Endovenous laser treatment is a more powerful method. A local anesthetic is applied to the areas being treated, and a small laser fiber is inserted into the spider vein. The fiber emits pulses of light, treating the vein from the inside out to cause its collapse. This is typically used for larger, more severe spider veins.
What Is The Recovery Process Like?
Your doctor will provide you with detailed instructions to follow when caring for your laser spider vein treatment recovery process. These instructions are simple, and it is imperative to adhere to your post-op care instructions in order to facilitate proper healing and the best results from your laser spider vein treatment.
Recovery time varies from person to person, and depends upon the severity of your spider veins and the type of treatment used. You will need to shield your treatment site from the sun for three to four weeks, and your doctor will most likely inform you to avoid heavy lifting, prolonged standing, running, and hard exercise for approximately one month – though walking is highly encouraged throughout recovery. In addition, you may need to wear support stockings for three to six weeks after your treatment.
What Should I Expect After Laser Spider Vein Treatment?
Results depend on the health of your skin and the severity of your spider veins. Smaller spider veins may disappear soon after an initial treatment. With larger spider veins, you can expect to see improvement over several months. Larger veins typically take multiple treatments, and will lighten over the course of a few months. After a few treatments, they may even disappear entirely.
Results vary from person to person, and there is no way to predict whether your veins will fade or disappear completely without a consult from a doctor specializing in laser spider vein treatment. If your job or lifestyle requires you to stand or sit for long periods of time, your spider veins are less likely to disappear completely – and you may, in fact, develop more spider veins. Thus, it is important that laser treatment is paired with lifestyle changes that will help prevent a reoccurrence of spider veins.
Is Laser Spider Vein Treatment A Good Option For Me?
The best way to find out is to talk to a medical professional like Dr. Mark Rayman. He will take your medical history, and evaluate your veins. Sometimes, an ultrasound will be used to determine blood flow patterns in and around your spider veins. He will then present the best solution and discuss the details of your treatment plan. You can ask questions, discuss your prep and recovery, and the most cost-effective way to treat problematic spider veins using laser treatment.
If you are bothered by your spider veins, we encourage you to contact us today at Beach Cities Vein & Laser Center in El Segundo, CA to schedule a consultation! Dr. Rayman and his qualified staff proudly serve the Los Angeles area and are committed to helping you look and feel your best.