Laser Vein Ablation
Overview:
The primary causes of spider veins are pregnancy, prolonged standing and heredity. Child bearing can cause the legs to suffer from increased pressure within the veins, due to the weight of the developing fetus on major veins in our abdomen. Prolonged standing can cause eventual increase in venous pressure due to gravity and lead to spider vein formation. Heredity is the most common cause and you can thank your parents for that one.
Prevention of spider veins is difficult. It is controversial whether compression stockings can prevent or minimize their formation.
Treatment:
The primary treatment modalities for the ablation of spider veins is sclerotherapy where an ‘irritating agent’ is injected into the lumen of the vein causing it to close, or elimination with the use of a vascular laser to coagulate the underlying vessels without injuring the skin.
Spider veins represent very small offshoots of the superficial veins in our legs. They do not carry any appreciable volume of blood, and thus their ablation does not alter the circulation of blood in our legs. They differ from varicose veins, which are dilated segments of larger veins, which often require a surgical procedure to remove.