Spider veins are not nice to look at regardless of where they may be in the body. It can happen on the face but this usually appears on the legs. Fortunately, this can be remedied and people have to choose from two types of spider vein treatment.
The first is called sclerotherapy also known as spider vein injection. Here, the doctor will inject a scleroic agent into you the affected vein which is designed to make them contract and collapse.
This is done when the patient has medium to large spider veins. It is a painless procedure which is why anesthesia is not given. It is over within 15 to 45 minutes and you will have to go back for two or six more sessions to see its full effect.
Sclerotherapy was first used in Europe and then now being used by doctors in the US. This should only be done by a certified doctor to avoid complications.
The second type of spider vein treatment is laser. Here, the doctor will aim the beam over the spider veins so this will coagulate and shrink. This is very effective when the patient has small and medium sized spider veins.
Patients who decide to use laser surgery should know that you will feel a little pain when the procedure is being performed. Despite that, you dont need to be given any local anesthetic, pain medication or sedative.
In both types, you should expect the spider veins in the skin to get darker and become more visible. Within 2 weeks to a month and a half, this should already start to fade so it is slowly improving.
Some patients who have small, medium and large spider veins have to use combination therapy which consist of sclerotherapy and laser which will greatly reduce the cost for laser treatment.
The cost of sclerotherapy and laser treatment are not that far apart. A session of sclerotherapy may cost between $100 and $400 per session while laser treatment could cost $300-450 per session. But you have to remember that this could go higher depending on the number of veins that have to be treated, the doctor who is performing the procedure and where you are having this done. Doctors who have their own clinic can do it right there instead of having this done in the hospital.
The two types of spider vein treatment have similarities and differences. One cannot be substituted with the other because one type is designed to help patients who have small to medium spider veins while the other is to help treat those who have medium to large spider veins.
Which one will be performed on you will depend on the assessment of your doctor. To help with the cost of this procedure, you should see if your insurance provider will be able to cover it. You should know right now that many insurance companies do not shoulder this expense because their argument is that this is a cosmetic procedure.
While this is true, you can with the help of your doctor argue that you need one of the two types of spider vein treatment for medical reasons. Just remember that this should be backed up by pictures and documents so there is a big chance that your request for this procedure is approved.