Cosmetic Veins

Unsightly, dilated veins represent a common reason for consultation in clinics. They can be located at different locations in your body, but the ones that are, by far, the most treated are leg veins and face veins.

FACE VEINS

Face veins are normally seen as thread veins at the cheeks or broken veins present at the nose, In other cases, these vascular lesions are seen as little red spots, also known as cherry angiomas.
These face veins are, in many cases, purely cosmetic, and can be easily eliminated. However, they are also seen as a symptom for certain diseases such as rosacea. And when this is the case, the underlying problems should be treated first before considering any vein treatment, or the results may be disappointing.

Face veins before and after

These unsightly veins can be treated using different devices, such as laser, intense pulsed light or IPL, plasma or thermocoagulation. Although they all can offer good results, the best and pain-free method to treat face veins is thermocoagulation.

What is thermocoagulation?

Thermocoagulation uses a very low current of 4MHz, delivered through an isolated probe. The target is the wall of the blood vessel, not the blood (as is the case for light-based devices such as lasers or IPL). When the device is shot, it will immediately seal the vein and the vein literally disappears. The patient can see the results at once and the pain is nil.

ThermaVein

The treatment is office-based, quick and does not require any local anaesthetic. Downtime for the procedure is minimal and in most cases only 1 session of treatment is required.

Dr. Arturo Almeida is an expert on Thermavein, the most effective thermocoagulation device available in the market, and he is also a Medical Advisor for this company.

COSMETIC LEG VEINS

Cosmesis is always the main reason why patients consult for leg veins. Also known as thread leg veins or spider veins, will make people, women in particular, more self-conscious about their legs and stop them from wearing certain outfits such as shorts or skirts. Some women may feel so embarrassed of their legs that they may even avoid going to the beach or the swimming pool during the summer season.

The problem of thread veins and spider veins is that, if left untreated, may evolve to the ugly, bulging and dilated varicose veins, which now represent a health issue. In fact, in up to 10% cases, varicose veins will evolve to venous ulcers, a lesion that represents a major medical condition.

Sclero BEFORE SCLEROTHERAPY BEFORE

Sclero AFTER SCLEROTHERAPY AFTER

How can cosmetic leg veins be treated?

Spider veins and thread leg veins can be treated using different methods. The reality is that no single method will permanently eliminate these veins and recurrence is high. Therefore, follow up visits to your doctor are advised for long-standing results.

The gold standard to treat cosmetic leg veins is sclerotherapy, also referred to as microsclerotherapy.

Percutaneous laser

Lasers and other energy-based devices are also used to treat spider veins and cosmetic leg veins. They are percutaneous techniques and are very effective when the target is fine, superficial veins. Typically, several sessions are required to achieve results. However, in many cases, thread veins are secondary to the presence of deeper, dilated veins, known as reticular veins. These reticular veins are not even seen or perceived by the patient, but unless we treat them first with a well-performed sclerotherapy,.these percutaneous techniques will fail.

MICRO SCLEROTHERAPY

Dr. Arturo performing micro slerotherapy Arturo performing microslerotherapy

Sclerotherapy is a well-established procedure for the treatment of spider veins and has gained a reputation as a safe and effective treatment for cosmetic veins and telangiectasia on the legs. It is reasonable to expect an improvement of 40-80 percent in the appearance of these cosmetic veins after a microsclerotherapy procedure. Most patients report that after about four weeks, they begin to see a difference, although the full effects of spider vein treatment will take two to three months to see. In most cases, however, an average of 4 sessions are needed to achieve desired results.

With sclerotherapy, a solution or “sclerosant agent” is injected into the dilated vein using a very fine needle, which in most cases is not even felt by the patient. The solution irritates the inside of the blood vessel, causing it to shut and block the flow of blood, in a process known as sclerosis. The procedure is done at the doctor’s office, does not require anaesthesia, and it usually takes 30 minutes to complete.

Compression is a key part of the treatment. During the session of sclerotherapy, your doctor will apply a compression pad on the treated vein, to facilitate the irritating action of the sclerosant solution, and at the end, compression stockings and/or bandages are applied in the treated leg, and worn for about 3 weeks to keep this pressure. This will not interfere with any of your daily activities, including exercise.

Testimonials

I had vein treatments since I was young at different clinics and with different doctors, so I was very familiar with these procedures. When I first met Dr. Almeida, I was very impressed with his unique way of explaining everything using a very easy to understand language, which was never the case before. He made the procedure virtually painless and the results were fantastic. I can’t recommend him enough!

Rosa

When I first met Dr. Almeida in his clinic, I was in agony, and literally I couldn’t keep myself standing up for long due to my varicose vein problem. On the first consultation he explained everything to me in detail and told me that surgery could be avoided with this foam treatment. After the second session my pain had disappeared and I could take a nice shower without any pain for the first time in many years! I am so grateful I found Dr. Arturo and from now on, nobody else will treat my legs. Thank you, Dr. Almeida.

Sonia

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

WHAT IS THE BEST METHOD TO TREAT MY LEG VEINS?

There is no such “best method” as it will depend on the type of veins to be treated. For bulging, dilated, varicose veins, the best method will be Venablock (glue ablation of saphenous vein) combined with foam sclerotherapy (to treat the tributary veins draining into the “main pipeline”, aka saphenous vein. These treatments can be performed in an office setting, without the need of hospitalisation.
For thread veins, aka spider veins, microsclerotherapy is the treatment of choice,m which can be combined at times with laser or Thermavein treatment.

DOES SCLEROTHERAPY HURT?

Although this is an injectable treatment, it is delivered using a very small and thin needle, so in many cases you will only feel a tiny sharp prick, and sometimes, not even that. When the sclerosant solution is injected, you may feel a bit of a stingy sensation, but that’s all.

WILL MY VEINS DISAPPEAR IMMEDIATELY AS I’VE SEEN IN SOME VIDEOS?

Veins are seen because the blood flows within them, so when no blood is present, no vein is seen. In the videos you are mentioning, when the solution is injected, this removes the blood inside the vein and seems like the vein is miraculously gone. But what the videos don’t show is that after a few seconds, the blood will re enter the vein and the vein will be visible again. The irritating action of the sclerosant solution stays and then a process called sclerosis ensues, and this will eventually seal the vein.

DO I NEED TO WEAR COMPRESSION STOCKINGS AFTER THE TREATMENT?

Absolutely Yes!. Compression stockings are a critical part of the treatment of lower limb veins. With compression, the vein remains occluded and by doing so, the sclerosis process is facilitated (whether with laser or sclerosis). Compression stockings also prevent the blood from entering the vein and minimises the possibility of post treatment hyperpigmentation. And improves the overall blood flow in your legs. So for all these reasons, yes, compression stockings are definitely indicated if you want to achieve good results.

WHAT IS THE BEST TREATMENT FOR THREAD VEINS ON FACE?

Although several treatment options are available, without any doubt, the best treatment for thread veins and broken veins on the face is Thermavein. The reason is that Thermavein targets the vessel, not the blood (as is the case for lasers), so the results are seen immediately after the treatment, and in most cases, only 1 session is needed. And the best of it, it is pain free!

ABOUT DR. ALMEIDA

As a Consultant surgeon, Dr. Almeida has been treating vein conditions for 2 decades, and he has personally performed thousands of these procedures at different clinics in Europe. He also teaches and trains medical professionals on these vein techniques. Therefore, if you need a skilled and expert professional to deal with your vein problem, whether cosmetic or more medical. Dr. Almeida is your “go-to” expert.

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