The best and gold standard treatment for spider veins is laser. Laser vein removal is an easy, fast and effective way to treat superficial veins. The laser uses a focused beam of light and in the treatment of veins, the wavelength of light is targeted to the pigment in the blood. The laser heats up the small vessel and destroys it. The laser beam is focused and does not damage the nearby skin tissue. Over a period of 4-6 weeks, the vein is reabsorbed by the body and disappears.
During your treatment, you may feel a slight tingling sensation as the laser fires. Soon after the procedure, you may feel a slight bump on the skin which will disappear in the next 2-4 hours. The area may also appear slightly redder and occasionally may be bruised. The results of laser treatment for spider veins are not immediate. After laser therapy, the vessels underneath the skin will gradually change from a dark blue to light red color, then eventually disappear in 2-6 weeks. After treatment, there is no down time. The risks associated with laser vein therapy are minimal. You can resume all of your normal activities immediately afterward. Healing can be facilitated by wearing support hose.
Depending on the size and number of veins, 2 to 6 treatments will be needed. Treatments are usually scheduled 4-6 weeks apart. Spider veins are recurrent and thus more treatments will be required in the future.
Advantages of Laser Therapy:
* It has much fewer side effects
* It is less traumatic to the surrounding skin compared to sclerotherapy
* It takes a much shorter time to complete laser treatment
* It is less painful than sclerotherapy
* Recovery is immediate
* Downtime is almost zero
* Laser therapy can even be used on the face