Joel Gotvald, MD, FACS

Venaseal is a very safe and effective treatment for varicose veins.  It is available now and it is FDA approved.  The results in our practice has been excellent.  We have not seen any significant dangers outside of typical small procedural risks that are associated with all varicose vein therapies.  In my experience, adhesives within veins is not anything that make the procedure more dangerous or concerning.  Although I do not like to label anything the "best", I would definitely say that VenaSeal is among the best options available for varicose vein therapy.  What makes it stand out from other treatments is that no compression stocking use is needed, you can exercise without restriction immediately following the procedure, no anesthesia is needed, no incisions are needed, and the discomfort related to both the procedure itself as well as discomfort during the recovery are less than the other procedures out there.  The procedure is performed through a single IV site, requiring only one injection of Xylocaine / Novacaine at a single site.  I think it is an excellent option for the majority of patients with varicose veins and venous reflux disease.

Taking advil after sclerotherapy should not cause any problems.  I often recommend medications such as this to relieve minor aching or soreness of the treated veins and I have never seen any problems in doing so.  

We really just advise avoiding these medications BEFORE sclerotherapy so that there is less bruising at the treatment sites.  After therapy it is fine.

In 2017, we charge $350 for a session of spider vein sclerotherapy with Asclera, which includes the price of the vial of drug, the syringe and needle used to inject it, as well as it covering the cost of a board-certified physician doing the injections himself.  I hope that helps.

No, VenaSeal therapy is a treatment or varicose veins, not spider veins.  The most affordable treatment that is effective for spider veins is sclerotherapy.  Laser therapy can also work, but tends to be more costly and the results are not as good.

We perform Asclera sclerotherapy daily in our Vein Center.  Once Asclera has been completed, there will always be some bruising that will take some time to resolve.  Also, it will take your body some time to absorb the treated veins.  Typically it can take anywhere from a couple of weeks to a couple of months to see the end results. The patient satisfaction rates with the treatment results are very high in our practice (over 85% satisfied). The "puncture marks" you describe are the bruises from the treatment and this would be common at 1 week.   But it is very atypical (unheard of really) to see large hard mass after the procedure (as you describe).  So whoever did your treatment may have inadvertently caused a complication such as a blood collection (hematoma) or an extravasation (medication escaping from the veins into the soft tissues or skin around the veins).  Since this is very atypical I would suggest that you have the person that did your treatment take a look at your leg and tell you what they think.