National Average Cost $4,823.21

Sclerotherapy is a process that uses injections of a sclerosing agent to dissolve and eliminate spider veins. The physician or nurse uses a tiny needle to inject the solution directly into the spider vein. This solution displaces the blood in the vein, causing it to blanche, or turn white. The procedure eliminates the veins from view, and can also alleviate some of the symptoms that sometimes accompany them, such as aches, cramps, swelling, or burning sensations.

Spider veins usually appear on the legs, hips, and ankles and appear bluish or purple and reddish in color. They are usually quite thin, and may form in branch-like shapes, with small veins stretching out from a centralized area, or simply in small separated lines. Spider veins do not serve a purpose in the oxygenation of tissue and are a result of increased pressure to the veins.

While sclerotherapy is most commonly used for treating spider veins, it can also sometimes be used to treat minor varicose veins in certain patients. More often, however, because of the larger and more serious nature of varicose veins, surgical treatment is required.