Men and women often develop enlarged leg veins. These can occur in different sizes, colors and distributions. The smaller veins are generally red and are often called spider veins. Intermediate veins may be purple and the larger veins are usually blue. Veins can occur on the thighs, calves or on the feet. They can occur singly or in masses. Generally enlarged veins will allow more blood to flow through them and so will continue to enlarge with time and form larger groups of veins. They can be unsightly and so patients come in to remove them. For the largest veins they can bulge out as varicose veins and also be uncomfortable.

We don’t always know what causes the enlarged leg veins in a particular person. But there can be many contributing factors including heredity, long periods of standing, blockage or partial blockage of blood return (including tight clothing, pregnancy, etc.), and even trauma. For many people good quality support stockings can slow the progression of the condition.

Men and women often come in to see us to remove the enlarged leg veins. We are very experienced in the treatment of Leg Veins and are expert in both Laser Treatment and Sclerotherapy to remove them.  We are happy to provide a Free Consultation to evaluate your situation, discuss the available options and give you our recommendations. 

Lasers

Lasers have been used to treat leg veins for about 15 years. Initially they were heavily publicized but the early lasers did not live up to expectations. Luckily the technology has continued to advance so that now we have lasers that are very effective in treating vascular lesions. For many kinds of veins we use a long pulsed NdYag laser and find that very effective.

We analyze the kinds of veins you have, their location, your skin type, etc. and choose the laser and the settings to best treat your veins. We then aim the laser at the veins and the laser spot supplies photons to the veins to quickly heat the blood vessel wall. We want the vessels to then gradually close over the next 1-3 weeks as a result of the laser treatment.

Sclerotherapy

Sclerotherapy treatment has been used for many years. It is done by injecting a solution into the veins to affect the vessel walls and make them tend to close up. We choose the solution based on the type and size of the vessels to be treated, and sometimes choose saline (salt water) or one of several FDA approved medications.

We use a very small needle and most people don’t find it particularly uncomfortable (even for people who dislike needles). We often cover the areas with tape to provide a little more pressure and enhance the effect.

After Treatment

Immediately after treatment of leg veins you can return to your normal activities. There is no downtime but please refrain from strenuous physical exercise because that might possibly decrease the effectiveness of our treatment.

Usually the veins improve with each treatment and for best effect you should plan on multiple treatments. We usually space these at intervals of 3-4 weeks or so for any area, so that we get the most effect out of each treatment.

Before and After Photos

The following photos of our patients demonstrate the kinds of results with leg vein treatment.

Inner Part of Left Thigh
Before Treatment	After Treatment

Dark Plexus of Larger Veins
Before Treatment	After Treatment

Smaller, Finer Leg Veins
Before Treatment	After Treatment

Lateral Left Thigh
Before Treatment	Three weeks after one treatment, bruising still fading

Back of Left Thigh
Before Treatment	Three weeks after one treatment, veins much better, bruising still fading

Arcade Veins on the Lateral Left Thigh. This is a common distribution.
Before Treatment	After Treatment

Veins on Foot
Before Treatment	During Treatment

If you are bothered by your leg veins, please call to schedule your Free Consultation to evaluate your vein problems, to discuss your concerns and the available therapies and to give you our recommendations on the right treatment for you.

Remember that treatment may be done over several visits, so please call to schedule your visit soon -- the sooner you get started, the sooner you'll be enjoying the results.

(706) 323-1000.