Microsclerotherapy

The best drugs to use are prescription only; they can only be prescribed by a doctor and can only be administered under a doctor’s supervision.

Many beauty parlours often offer thread vein injections, but these will normally be using less-effective chemicals that beauticians are allowed to use and do not require a doctor’s prescription.

We use sodium tetradecyl sulphate (STS) as a sclerosant, in a liquid form. STS is a licensed drug and is extremely safe when used as a sclerosant. As with all drugs, however, there is a limit to the dose that can be administered in any one session. All of our microsclerotherapy sessions conform to the strict guidelines of maximum doses allowable of the sclerosant.

Microsclerotherapy should not be used to treat facial thread veins. For treatment of thread veins of the face, we would recommend thermocoagulation.

It is important, even with thread veins, to discover if there is an underlying cause for them, and this will need to be established prior to the microsclerotherapy being undertaken. The only way to determine if there is an underlying cause is by having a duplex ultrasound scan of your legs.

It is unlikely that patients suffering only with thread veins have an underlying problem; however, if there is an underlying problem, we generally strongly recommend this is treated before tackling the visible veins. If we treat the visible veins without first fixing an underlying cause, the veins are highly likely to recur.

If an underlying cause is identified, this will usually be a small reticular vein feeding a clump of thread veins. We would recommend treating the reticular vein using foam sclerotherapy. This can usually be performed at the same time as the microsclerotherapy for the thread veins, provided that the total dose of the sclerosant used is not exceeded.

We want to ensure that we provide patients with the most effective treatment that lasts.

If an underlying valve problem is found, please note that your treatment pathway is likely to involve the stages within the Varicose Vein Treatment Pathway.

The drug used in microsclerotherapy is the same as used in foam sclerotherapy. The difference is that foam sclerotherapy is mixed with air to create a foam, and is used to treat larger veins.

Most patients require between 2 and 4 sessions of microsclerotherapy, so it is important to note that it might take some time to fully resolve all of your thread veins. Occasionally, only 1 session is required. At the other extreme, we have had one patient – with extremely extensive thread veins covering almost every square inch of her legs – who required more than 30 sessions; but she was still delighted with the final results.

Ideally, the session would last until we have treated all the affected veins, but we must stop the treatment once we have reached the safety limit. The number of sessions required depends entirely on how many veins you present with and how well your veins respond to treatment (some veins may need treating more than once).

At your consultation, we will give you a good idea of how many sessions you’re likely to require based on our past patients’ experiences. In addition, prior to committing to a consultation, you’re welcome to send us some images of your legs and we can send these on to a consultant to review.