If you have spider veins — also known as telangiectasias — the good news is there’s no good reason to keep them. Spider veins, like varicose veins, are broken blood vessels that don’t function as they should.
You don’t need spider veins. You can have them safely and easily removed.
Jeffrey Gosin, MD, an expert and skilled vein specialist at Shore Vascular and Vein Center in Somers Point, New Jersey, removes spider veins with sclerotherapy or lasers. Here’s how — and why — you can remove spider veins.
Spider veins don’t work
In case the idea of evaporating your own blood vessels makes you uneasy, spider veins are already broken. They’re not doing the job they were meant to do, and so your circulatory system won’t miss them at all.
In fact, once Dr. Gosin eliminates your spider veins, your circulatory system simply reroutes itself to healthier veins. Spider vein treatment, therefore, makes your circulatory system more efficient.
Spider veins in your legs usually arise because the tiny valves that push the blood forward weaken with age. As the little capillaries bulge with blood, they branch out, causing the spidery appearance of red, blue, or purple superficial veins.
When you have spider veins on your face, they’re usually a sign of damage. Sun exposure can degrade the integrity of facial veins. So can treating your face too roughly, particularly around the nose.
Anything that increases the amount of pressure on your blood vessels increases your risk of broken valves and weakened veins and capillaries. Even being overweight, pregnant, or on your feet all day, for instance, could increase your risk for spider veins.
Sclerotherapy collapses spider veins
Sclerotherapy is an injectable spider vein treatment that takes just minutes to administer. After sterilizing the treatment site, Dr. Gosin injects the tiny, broken capillaries with something called a sclerosing agent.
The sclerosing agent that Dr. Gosin uses is polidocanol (brand name Asclera®). Polidocanol is a type of detergent that irritates the linings of the broken blood vessels, which causes them to collapse.
After the injection, Dr. Gosin massages the site to spread the sclerosing agent to all of the broken vessels. The treatment usually takes about 20 minutes. Your spider veins clear up gradually over the next few weeks as your body reabsorbs and eliminates the collapsed capillaries.
Lasers evaporate spider veins
Another way to eliminate spider veins is with laser therapy. Dr. Gosin uses the excel® V laser, which sends green-wavelength laser energy to the broken capillaries that make up your spider veins.
You don’t need to be numbed or take a painkiller with the excel. Dr. Gosin simply passes the laser over your spider veins in a treatment that only takes 15-30 minutes. You may need more than one session to achieve the degree of skin clarity you desire.
Dr. Gosin and his team help you decide whether sclerotherapy or lasers is the best choice for your spider veins. Get the skin clarity you want by booking your consultation today. Call us at 609-297-5992, or use the handy online contact form to request an appointment.
