Sclerotherapy vs laser vein therapy - which is best?

Treatment of spider, reticular, and varicose veins begins with a complete mapping of the vein network and evaluation of venous reflux. This should be done by a surgeon who is board certified in phlebology. I perform a combination of reticular, spider sclerotherapy and selective photothermolysis with laser.

Sclerotherapy is the injection of a solution into the vein to cause it to get irritated and turn into a tiny scar that is invisible and cannot carry blood.  Sclerotherapy is the best way to treat most leg veins.  However, the smallest, thinnest veins may be too small to treat with sclerotherapy... more

As stated by some of my colleagues, sclerotherapy is technically much more difficult but yields better, more reliable results for leg veins. Over the years, there have been many lasers and IPL devices that have been developed to try to compete with the efficacy of sclerotherapy...but to date, none have... more

   Sclerotherapy has a lot of advantages to laser vein treatments. It is more effective and cheaper. However, it is quite technique dependent. I have attended laser "courses" which are really courses masquarading as sales sessions. When they get to the vascular  part when they are... more

Often times this is not an either/or decision. These two modalities can be complementary. Furthermore, the use of surgery is still occasionally required. In any event, maintenance therapy will be required and it is important to understand and be prepared for this.

Most patients have a combination of spider veins, reticular veins, and varicose veins.   The reason that patients develop these types of "extra" veins is that there is likely venous reflux of some sort. What is venous reflux? It means that the veins that usually let blood flow in one direction... more

Sclerotherapy is still considered the gold standard for vein treatments.  Sclerotherapy is effective on small veins that are red called spider veins, on the green veins that are called reticular veins and the large veins called varicose veins. Lasers are effective on the tiny red veins and are an... more

In an very independent study performed by one of this country's leading laser surgeons, Dr Tina Alster, she found in most patients that sclerotherapy was more efficient and less expensive than laser. Of course, very tiny matted vessels that are too small for the needle may respond just fine to certain long... more

We are often asked by patients this type of question during the consultation - what is better, sclerotherapy or laser vein therapy? I turn the question around and ask my patient the following question: what is better, an SUV or a sports car? The typical response is, "it depends" on what you want to... more