What are Common Spider Vein Treatment Side Effects?

Side effects of the procedure are rare. However they may include but are not limited to the following:


Itching: usually mild and lasting 2-3 days

Hyperpigmentation: brown discoloration which may be permanent in 1% of patients after one year.

Matting: an area of very fine veins that appear similar to a bruise

Pain: usually minimal discomfort is experienced

Ulcers: Rarely an ulcer or open sore may develop at the injection site, which will resolve in 4-6 weeks with local treatment but will leave a faint scar.

Allergic Reaction: 0.3% risk of reaction to injectant and usually occurs within 30 minutes.

DVT/ Pulmonary Embolism: A blood clot in the deep vein of the leg or a blood clot in the lung is a very rare occurrence.

Sclerotherapy is a very safe and effective procedure when performed by a board certified dermatologist who has a specialized knowledge in vein treatments. As a pioneer of sclerotherapy it is common for patients to experience mild redness, temporary iching and slight bruising after undergoing a sclerotherapy treatment. The most common adverse effect is the development of brown-tan staining that can last a few months after treatment. However, following the post-operative guidelines outlined by your doctor will greatly reduce any adverse effect or complicationand allow you to heal as quickly as possible.

Sclerotherapy is a safe treatment if done by an experienced surgeon.  The American Board of Phlebology is the governing board for vein specialists.  There are many risks with any procedure.  However, the most common with sclerotherapy are pigmentation, recurrence of the spider vein, and tissue extravasation.  By far, recurrence of development of more spider veins is the most common outcome. 

The most common side effects to sclerotherapy are swelling, brusing, and some ditenderness at the injection site. To reduce and accelerate healing good support stockings are to be worn for at least two weeks after the procedure and Tylenol cab be taken for the tenderness.

It's interesting that every physician that answered this question spoke about side effects from sclerotherapy. We'd like to address potential side effects from laser treatment of spider veins. It is important to note that one of the most prominent side effects of sclerotherapy - hyperpigmentation or hemosiderin staining- can be addressed with laser treatments after your injections.
Possible side effects of laser treatment of spider veins include:

Bruising.
Cat scratch flaking or scabbing.
Blister or burn (very rare or nonexistent when using Nd:Yg laser on legs, rare but more common when using KTP on the face)

Injection sclerotherapy is typically the best treatment for spider veins. Talk to your doctor about the type of medication that will be used as each sclerosant carries its own side effect profile. The most common side effects include urticaria (or hives) that resemble small mosquito bites at the injection sites and causes itching. This goes away within a few hours after the treatment. A little bruising or swelling is also common and temporary. Patients may experience hyperpigmentation (brownish discoloration) but fortunately, most patients notice this fades or goes away over time. Other less common side effects include a condition called superficial thrombophlebitis which is a painful, inflamed area over a segment of a vein treated. This resolves in a couple of weeks and can be relieved with the use of compression stockings and over the counter anti-inflammatories. More serious side effects include blood clots, allergic reactions, skin necrosis and wounds. Your doctor should obtain a complete medical history in order to understand your risks for undergoing a medical procedure like sclerotherapy. 

One of the most common side effects after sclerotherapy treatment is hyperpigmentation. This occurs because hemosiderin, a breakdown product of red blood cells, have extravasated from the blood cells. This takes about 6 months to 1 year to completely go away. If it persist beyond this time a laser may help with treatment.  Another common complication is superficial thrombophlebitis in which the treated vein becomes tender and swollen. Compression stockings do help to prevent the occurrence. Telangiectatic matting can appear after sclerotherapy treatment. This generally occurs because there is a reticular vein below that is still continuing to feed the treated area. Less common side effects include neurological complications, cutaneous necrosis, deep vein thrombosis, and allergic reactions. 

During sclerotherapy, you may experience mild discomfort and cramping for a minute or two when the solution is injected into the veins. There might be some itching and bruising as well. With lasers, there might be some swelling that will disappear within a few days. With both, you might experience some discolored skin in the areas that have been treated, but this fades in 10-14 days. It’s extremely important that you see a highly trained dermatologist—to have these procedures done. In inexperienced hands, lasers, in particular, can cause burns and scars on the skin.

Sclerotherapy is associated with several side effects- all of which occur infrequently and it is not uncommon for the incidence of side effects to be directly related to the experience of the injector. Side effects include staining(skin discoloration), matting(increased fine vessel vein formation), temporary itching or swelling, darkening of the injected veins, clotting of the injected veins and failure of the veins to resolve.  Even rarer side effects include superficial phlebitis, DVT and ulcer formation.

The risk of side effects after spider vein treatment is relatively low in the hands of an experienced vein specialist.  Always research the physician doing the procedure & make sure that they are appropriately qualified to be doing vein treatments and that they are board certified in treatment of vein diseases.  Board Certification in Vascular (blood vessel) conditions is preferred.

Risk including 1) allergic reaction to the medication injected, 2) abnormal skin discoloration known as hyperpigmentation or hemosiderin staining which results from pigment depositing in the skin as a result of red blood cell destruction and skin inflammation, 3) matting, which is the development of a cluster of capillaries or small spider veins around the injected area that often looks like a bruise, 4) development of skin ulcerations or wounds (a rare side effect), thrombophlebitis (inflammation and small clots occurring inside leg veins), or recurrence of the veins with failure of the veins to resolve.

Luckily most patients get good results with sclerotherapy and are very satisfied with the results and rarely get these side effects, with an approximate 10-15% skin side effect rate.  Over 90% of patients who develop skin side effects will have resolution of the side effects with time, but it can often take many months for the abnormal skin reactions to resolve completely.

 

I hope that this information was helpful.