Ultrasound Guided Sclerotherapy
After assessment by your doctor and an ultrasound scan to map out the abnormal veins, it may be that your best treatment option is UGS.
UGS involves injection of a sclerosing agent into varicose or abnormal veins. Ultrasound imaging is used at the time of the procedure to find the veins to be treated. Injection of a the sclerosant foam is guided by the ultrasound image. This allows treatment of often hidden and quite large veins.
This procedure is a walk in, walk out brief procedure requiring only several injections. There is no need for any type of anaesthetic to be used. There is a safe limit of sclerosant solution or foam that can be used in any one session.
Once injected, the sclerosant foam acts to damage the lining of the vein, which then results in the vein collapsing and closing down. The body’s natural healing processes then take several weeks for complete resolution of the treated veins.
Some people will require several sessions of UGS depending on the size and number of vein branches to be treated. The result of treatment is checked with an ultrasound scan 1-2 weeks later.
Class 2 Compression stockings are required after treatment for 2 weeks. Normal activities can continue but some limitation of strenuous exercise may be recommended.
There may be some minor discomfort and side effects after the treatment, which resolve over time. Rarely, more significant side effects or complications occur.
FOAM
The use of sclerosant foam has become the gold standard for this type of treatment for varicose veins. The foam is generated by mixing the liquid sclerosant drug with a small volume of air just prior to each injection.
The liquid sclerosant agents are approved for use for treatment of Varicose Veins in Australia by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), the foam however is an “off-label” use of the medication. The quantity of air used is very small and the risks with the use of foam are very low.
The foam sclerosants are much more effective than the liquid sclerosant for closure of large varicose veins.
If you have a patent Foramen Ovale (PFO – a type of heart defect) – you must inform the doctor. In these people, there may be a small risk of air embolus or stroke.
The sclerosants used in this practice are Fibrovein TM (Sodium Tetradecyl Sulfate), Laureth-9-Sulfate (Aethoxysklerol or Polidocanol).
Other leg vein treatments offered at Adelaide Plastic Surgery Associates are
Sclerotherapy
Endovenous Laser Therapy