1) Research the Leg Vein Clinic Before Your Appointment
Before you book treatment for spider veins, do your research. While many people consider spider veins a cosmetic nuisance, they can also signify vein disease and impaired circulation, so choose a reputable medical clinic for your diagnosis. In addition, some vein clinics only offer temporary solutions like topical laser treatment, which won’t keep you from developing more spider veins. You should only consider accredited vein clinics to ensure your treatment is safe and successful. When you choose a qualified NY vein clinic, your procedure is more likely to be covered by insurance than the treatments provided by estheticians. Click HERE to visit our award-winning vein clinic in New York.
2) Choose a Vein Doctor for Varicose Veins and Spider Veins
It’s important to partner with board certified vein doctors, like our NY spider vein experts, who specialize in venous medicine. These physicians have a thorough understanding of your vascular system and are qualified to conduct the most innovative techniques for comprehensive, lasting results. Spider veins might seem like a minor issue, but there is often a problematic deeper vein causing the vein damage you see at the surface. Without treating underlying problems, spider vein treatment is temporary at best.
3) Ask for a Diagnosis of Broken Capillaries on Legs
It’s important to seek a proper diagnosis of broken capillaries on the legs, since there are different types of blood vessels, and they require different treatments. The three main types of blood vessels are arteries, veins, and capillaries. Arteries are the largest blood vessels, and they carry oxygenated blood away from the heart and distribute it throughout the body. Veins are smaller vessels that carry the deoxygenated blood back to the heart to collect oxygen. Capillaries are the smallest blood vessels, and they connect arteries to veins.
Spider veins are small veins or capillaries that have sustained damage. When they develop on the face, they might be the result of sun damage, extreme temperatures, or external pressure on the skin. When you develop broken capillaries in the legs, they’re more often related to circulatory issues like the vein disease called Chronic Venous Insufficiency. They’re typically addressed with a venous sclerosis treatment, in which a vein doctor injects a sclerosing agent into the vein, causing the vein to collapse. Blood vessels like varicose veins might respond to sclerotherapy, but they might need a different procedure like endovenous laser or radiofrequency ablation, or a vein adhesive like VenaSeal. So, getting an accurate diagnosis is essential to effective treatment.
4) Ask Why There Are Veins Popping out on Your Legs
As important as a proper diagnosis is, it’s equally important to determine why those unsightly veins are popping out on your legs. With varicose veins, you’ll notice large, rope-like veins bulging above the skin’s surface. They’re typically blue, purple, or green. Spider veins are smaller and don’t raise the skin’s surface level. They tend to form in clusters of purple, blue, or red veins on the legs. Getting rid of varicose veins and spider veins is high on our patients’ priority list, because they’re easy to see and often present with uncomfortable symptoms like cramping, aching, itching, heaviness, swelling, and restlessness in the legs.
Visible veins and those correlating symptoms mean you probably have Chronic Venous Insufficiency. It’s important for your vein doctor to check for this, because if it’s left untreated, spider veins and varicose veins will continue to appear, even if you treat the existing ones. It’s also crucial to determine the cause of your vein damage because life threatening complications like blood clots and pulmonary embolisms are more likely with compromised circulation. We often have patients ask us, “What can get rid of varicose veins?” and the answer is to identify and treat any underlying disease. Luckily, for most patients, spider veins, varicose veins, and Chronic Venous Insufficiency are all resolved quickly in an outpatient setting without surgery, general anesthesia, or downtime!
5) Seek Options for Varicose Veins & Spider Veins Treatment
Don’t settle for one treatment method without hearing your options. Qualified vein specialists should have more than one of the following choices for spider vein removal: sclerotherapy, radiofrequency ablation, endovenous laser ablation, vein adhesives, and rotating catheters. Look for doctors who mention terms like RFA, Varithena, ClariVein, VenaSeal, and liquid, foam, or premixed foam venous sclerosing treatments. Make sure your doctor does an allergy assessment, since some patients are better suited to one treatment over another based on their sensitivities. Ask your vein doctor why they’re recommending a particular treatment to make sure they’re treating you as an individual with a unique set of symptoms and concerns.
6) View Spider & Varicose Vein Removal Before and After Page
Ask to see the vein clinic’s spider and varicose vein removal before and after photos. You want to see real evidence of their success with your procedure and make sure they have experience with your condition. Look at patient reviews and peer comparisons. Have they received any awards like Patient’s Choice or Center of Excellence? Look for strong indicators that they are experts in their field with a proven track record.
7) Ask, “Can Varicose Veins Return After Treatment?”
It’s important to ask the vein specialist, “Can varicose veins return after treatment?”, not just so you’re prepared for the outcome, but also to assess their knowledge about varicosities. Choose a doctor who gives an honest answer, which is that varicose veins won’t return in that same spot, if the vein is treated correctly. Proper treatment ensures that the troubled vein is sealed shut, so that blood can no longer flow into it. However, it is possible to treat a vein improperly. For instance, if the medication doesn’t coat the entire area or is injected in the wrong spot. Additionally, it is possible to develop another varicose area, in addition to the one that was repaired, if the underlying cause isn’t treated. So, it’s important to choose a doctor who looks for the cause of your varicosities, and who uses technology like Doppler Ultrasound to observe the treatment within your vein to make sure it’s a success.
8) Ask Whether Multiple Treatment Sessions Are Needed
Some damaged veins will respond to a single treatment, while others will require additional treatments. Spider veins are often easy to treat with a single sclerotherapy injection. But if you have multiple spider veins, or thick veins with varicosities, you might need more than one treatment session. Our procedures only take 15-30 minutes, so they’re easy to fit into your schedule, even if you need more than one. Our patients are sitting or standing immediately following treatment and can resume all of their normal activities, making spider vein relief possible within your lunch break! With a proper diagnosis and ultrasound imaging, we keep treatments to a minimum, so you don’t have to waste any time.
9) Inquire About Post-Procedure Care for the Treated Area
It’s good to know what will be required for the treated area, in order to have what you need. But it’s also good to ask your doctor about this to make sure they’re using the least invasive method possible. Surgery is no longer a first line of treatment for most patients, so if your doctor mentions a lengthy recovery, a hospital stay, or rehabilitation, you should get a second opinion first. Some patients will require surgery, due to blood clots, prior treatments, or oversized veins, however even those patients might have more modern options like ambulatory phlebectomy.
Most spider vein patients respond very well to minimally invasive techniques, like sclerotherapy injections, and don’t need surgery at all. Their post-procedural care is remarkably easy and includes simple steps like wearing a compression stocking if needed. Visit our esteemed vein clinic in New York today for exceptional care with unparalleled results