How to Know if Person Administering Sclerotherapy is Qualified?

In our offices, physician assistants or the physician perform cosmetic sclerotherapy. Medical or ultrasound guided sclerotherapy is performed by the physician of record. Every state has a unique policy which regulates functions of nurses, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and physicians. Chiropractic doctors cannot do sclerotherapy. Massage therapists cannot do sclerotherapy. Aestheticians CANNOT do sclerotherapy. Understanding venous physiology and the nuances of venous disease that cause the problems with venous insufficiency is as important (if not more) as being given the privilege to take care of patients who come to you to fix the problem. This also includes pre procedure evaluation and post procedure care. 

In general there are 3 people who can administer sclerotherapy-a doctor, a nurse or a PA.  Each state had different regulations in relation to who can do this.  As far as individual qualifications to do sclerotherapy, certainly vein specialists, vascular surgeons, general surgeons, plastic surgeon and dermatologists would all be trained to do this during their residencies. Any other doctor can also be trained to do this by either taking a course or hands on training with a specialist.  Non MD'S would require a formalized course in sclerotherapy as well as hands on training.  Obviously, the more experience one has, the better he/she will be at doing sclerotherapy,

The person adminsitering Sclerotherapy should be at minimum a registered nurse and should have attended formal training to be qualified.  It is important to ask any Sclerotherapy injector if they have completed a formal training course, how many patients they have treated, and how long they have been administering treatments.

Ask how many procedures the doctor has performed make sure you are seeing either a board certified dermatologist, plastic surgeon or vascular surgeon. These specialities have the most experience perfoming this procedure.

You should ask the physician what their background training is (that is emergency room, psychiatry, dentistry, gynecology, plastic surgery, etc). Any physician can take a weekend course or shorter and do this procedure the next day. More importantly what you want to ask is how many of these procedures has the physician performed, how long has he/she been doing this procedure, can you see pictures of patients that have had the procedure, and can you talk with patients that have had the procedure. Ask what alternatives there are to sclerotherapy (lasers, etc), and if the physician does that as well.