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Treatments will take 30 minutes and there is no need to take time off work as you are able to continue with your normal activities after treatment. It is important to remember you need to walk for at least 30 minutes daily.
The number of treatments needed varies from person to person. At your initial consultation Dr Jenkins or Dr Tatham will discuss with you the number of treatments that are probably required to give good clinical improvement. In general, however at least 2 to 3 treatments per leg are needed to give good results.
Varicose veins are unhealthy veins that do not function correctly. Once these veins are treated your circulation will improve, your vein symptoms will disappear and your legs will gradually look much better.
Once treated adequately, the veins can’t come back as they fibrose and are broken down by your body. You may still develop new varicose veins however, due to hormonal, hereditary and environmental factors. If new veins do appear they can be treated.
In experienced hands UGS has a very high success rate. At Sydney Inner West Vein Centre we are committed to accurate assessment and comprehensive treatment by a team of doctors dedicated to the long-term management of venous disease. As a result we have a very high level of patient satisfaction. It is important to remember that varicose veins cannot be cured but excellent long-term results can be achieved.
Anywhere from 2 to 10 injections are needed to treat varicose veins with UGS. The sclerosant is injected as foam which covers the vein wall effectively and minimizes the number of injections required. The needle will sting a little, but most patients have no trouble tolerating the procedure.
These small tender lumps are trapped blood and can appear along the injected vein. While they can be tender they are no cause for alarm. They are more common in veins that are quite tortuous that have difficulty contracting down after treatment. They can be managed by releasing the trapped blood and the discomfort will quickly settle. These are NOT serious clots, but a common side effect of sclerotherapy.
Sclerotherapy is unfortunately a slow process and patience is a virtue. Although most of the injected veins start to close down and reabsorb fairly quickly it takes a long time for the body to break down the treated veins completely. Initially the injected veins may look somewhat worse, especially with the bruising that usually follows treatment. It may take from 2 to 12 months for the veins, residual marks and/or staining to disappear completely.
The simple answer is NO. While some people do see improvement in some of the smaller veins after UGS most people with spider veins will require 1 to 2 sessions of microsclerotherapy to treat these small veins. This usually takes place 6 weeks after UGS.
Compression stockings are vitally important after UGS treatment. Compression maintains closure of the treated veins and assists the flow of blood from the legs back to the heart. Stockings help to limit the bruising after treatment and they reduce the risk of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and thrombophlebitis.
The solutions called SCLEROSANTS that are injected into varicose veins are long-chain fatty acids that have an excellent safety profile. Otherwise known as “detergent agents” these solutions can be made into foam which is especially useful for treating large varicose veins. Foam is more efficient, has fewer side effects and a lower dose can be used to achieve good results as foam contacts the vein wall more effectively than a liquid solution. Depending on the size of your veins the treating doctor will determine the best solution / foam concentration. The solutions we use at Sydney Inner West Vein Centre have been used in medicine both safely and effectively for over 50 years.
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