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How is Asclera used for the treatment of spider veins on the legs?
Spider veins are dilated broken blood vessels that most typically appear on the lower legs over time. There are a number of reasons why spider veins develop, and thankfully, a number of treatments available.
Sclerotherapy is one of the oldest and tried-tested ways for treated unwanted superficial blood vessels on the legs. Sclerotherapy involves injecting a specialized solution (“sclerosant”) into the tiny blood vessels in the skin. The solution irritates the walls of the blood vessels causing them to collapse on themselves and ultimately be absorbed by the body.
Sclerotherapy has come a long way since its first introduction. In the early days, saline solution and sugar water was used, which was extremely painful for patients and was more inclined to have problems after the procedure. Nowadays, new sclerosing agents give great results with few side effects and little downtime.
Asclera is one such agent. Also known as polidocanol, Asclera is an injected medication approved for use in the Sclerotherapy procedures. This procedure helps to remove the appearance of both spider veins, also known as telangiectasia, and larger reticular and varicose veins. Asclera irritates the cellular lining of the treated veins, damaging the endothelium. This activates the body’s clotting cascade, basically inducing a chain reaction where a clot is formed within the vessel. Over time, this clot is broken down by the body and replaced with new tissue.
Asclera is unique in that we can foam the solution. Injecting foam allows us to use lower doses and get better contacted with the vessel walls. This translates to a safer and more effective treatment.
It is truly an incredible procedure, as you can actually see the solution going into the blood vessels, causing them to blanch and disappear in front of our eyes. In fact, the initial blanching response goes away shortly after the injection but the treated veins continue to breakdown and disappear over the next few weeks and months.
The entire process is quite simple, with little downtime. The studies have shown that and wearing compression hose for one to two weeks after the treatment leads to better results. They’re tight, and a little warm, so it is suggested that you hold off until the fall and winter to undergo this treatment!
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If you have leg veins that you have considered removing, please contact us today. Our highly trained dermatologists would love to speak with you regarding treatments available!