In recent years medical lasers have made great advancements in sophistication. Today, lasers are safely used for a wide variety of cosmetic non-invasive treatments. Laser therapy treatment is extremely safe and effective on leg veins, as well as veins visible on the face, neck, and chest.
Who are candidates for treatment?
Men and women may be treated. Light and dark-skinned individuals can now safely and effectively benefit from laser therapy for spider veins. Patients using blood thinners or afflicted with a serious illness generally are not candidates for treatment. Patients with dark suntans or photosensitivity disorders, uncontrolled or severe diabetes, bleeding disorders, or currently taking photosensitizing medications may also be restricted from candidacy.
How many treatments are required?
The number of treatments necessary to resolve your vein concerns depends on the size of the vein and your body's ability to heal. During your consultation, you will be given an estimate of the number of treatments required to obtain optimal results.
What does the treatment involve?
Treatment may vary from 15 to 30 minutes. As a result of treatment, the walls of the veins are damaged by the laser's heat. The body next induces a healing process. The veins shrink and become less visible or disappear altogether. Medical studies have documented exceptional results on veins with laser treatments.
What are the side effects and is there "down time"?
The beauty of this treatment is that there is no down time involved. You can resume most of your regular activities immediately. Your doctor may use various methods to reduce the pain that may be associated with this procedure. Swelling and mild bruising can occur, but almost always resolve over a short period of time. Limiting sun exposure, avoiding strenuous exercise, and wearing compression stockings will greatly minimize the risk of complications immediately following your treatment.
Which type of veins can laser therapy treat?
Laser therapy treats many types of facial and leg veins, including shallow spider veins and reticular veins.
Spider Veins are very small veins caused by a dilation of the small venules under the skin. This occurs when the pressure inside the vein increases enough to overcome normal resistance of the vein wall. The ability of veins to resist increased pressure is reduced with hormonal changes. New advances in laser technology now permit the safe and effective removal of small, spider-like veins on the face and nose called telangectasia.
Reticular Veins are small, bluish-colored veins that carry blood to the skin venules and are larger than spider veins. These veins have thin walls and dilate with excessive venous pressure. When this occurs, they become large enough to be unsightly, but are not considered to be varicose veins.
Both spider veins and reticular veins respond extremely well to laser therapy.
