Spider Veins

Spider veins or telangiectasia are small to very small veins which are visible on the surface of the skin. Sometimes they can cause discomfort. They are quite common and are not generally harmful, but when they are extensive they can be a source of concern for patients because of their bothersome appearance which can draw other people's attention to them.

There is universal agreement amongst experts in this field that Microsclerotherapy is the "Gold standard" for the treatment of telangiectatic leg veins or spider veins.

Spider veins tend to have a red colour and they are seen in many different patterns.

Spider veins arise due to back pressure from slightly larger veins called reticular veins which lie just beneath the surface of the skin.  Successful treatment of spider veins most often requires effective occlusion of reticular veins which are often hidden beneath the skin and not immediately obvious.  Poor results and complications such as matting usually occur because of a failure to identify and treat the relevant reticular vein network. Reticular veins can have a diameter of up to 2mm.  Their depth, their diameter and their underlying course is highly variable and is the explanation as to why surface lasers don't have the ability to adequately treat leg veins. Only meticulous microsclerotherapy can effectively treat these types of complex venous networks.

Spider veins are not infrequently (~25%) associated with underlying problems in the invisible veins deeper under the skin. So this is why at The Leg Vein Doctor we always perform a duplex ultrasound scan on your legs to properly image these veins and check their flow direction with Doppler.  Failure to detect underlying incompetence of superficial veins or saphenous veins leads to much greater complication rates in the treatment of surface veins and most trained sclerotherapists will not proceed with surface vein treatment until underlying venous incompetence has been completely treated.