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How Is VenaSeal™ Different from Sclerotherapy for Varicose Veins?
Whether you’ve just now started to notice visible veins or you’ve been living with them for years, you’re in the right place.
Spider and varicose veins can be both a physical and cosmetic pain, but our team at Advanced Vascular Solutions has everything you need to restore your skin’s health from the inside out.
Here’s a closer look at the difference between our two most popular vein treatments: VenaSeal™ and sclerotherapy.
Sclerotherapy basics
Sclerotherapy is one of the industry’s longest-standing vein treatments. During sclerotherapy, we inject a chemical saline solution into your damaged vein(s). The solution irritates your vein, destroying it and forcing it to close.
Over time, your body processes, absorbs, and eliminates the remains of the closed vein, and your circulatory system reroutes your blood flow through healthier veins.
What to expect
We use ultrasound technology to carefully guide the needle and catheter into place. You lie comfortably on our exam table with your legs slightly raised. Our staff cleans and prepares the injection site before your provider administers the sclerosing agent.
Other than some minor stinging or cramping as we insert the needle and inject the sclerosing agent, you should not experience any significant pain. You’re allowed to go home the same day as your procedure — in fact, walking and moving helps prevent blood clots. However, we don’t recommend strenuous exercise or heavy lifting for the first two weeks.
You should also wear compression socks to relieve pressure on the treated veins and help your body adjust to the new blood flow.
Getting to know VenaSeal
VenaSeal is a relatively newer procedure, but it’s shown to be just as effective as sclerotherapy. The primary difference between the two is that VenaSeal uses glue instead of a sclerosing agent.
The two processes are almost identical, but where we’d inject a chemical solution during sclerotherapy, we push through tiny drops of glue instead.
The glue seals the damaged vein, rendering it useless. Gradually, your veins become less visible as your body removes the vein.
What to expect
We create a small incision in your disease vein and use ultrasound-guided imaging to guide the needle and catheter to the exact position.
VenaSeal treatments are just as painless as sclerotherapy, and the recovery time and requirements are similar. You may even be able to avoid wearing compression stockings.
Which is right for you?
There’s really no wrong answer between VenaSeal and sclerotherapy. The best part is that you don’t have to decide on your own.
We thoroughly evaluate the current state and the likely causes of your vein problems before recommending VenaSeal, sclerotherapy, or another treatment, such as radiofrequency ablation.
For instance, larger varicose veins may respond better to VenaSeal, and sclerotherapy is often the right choice for spider veins. We always recommend treatment on a case-by-case basis and tailor each plan to fit our patients’ unique needs.
Ready to shake off vein problems? We’d love to talk with you about your options. You can request an appointment online or over the phone today. We serve patients in the Melbourne and Sebastian, Florida, area.
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