Minimally invasive outpatient procedures are used by Core Dermatology to treat varicose and spider veins. Before beginning surgery, Doppler ultrasound and other flow studies are often needed to determine which of the treatment options listed below should be utilized. Doppler ultrasound works by bouncing high-frequency sound waves (ultrasound) off red blood cells to determine blood flow.

• Larger varicose veins can be treated by a laser that causes the lumen on the veins to seal together. Sometimes surgery is necessary first to repair veins with leaky valves to reduce the gravity pressure of the blood into the spider veins.
• The more traditional surgical approach removes the tortuous, visible, or aching veins. Then your surgeon surgically ties-off or eliminates the perforator veins that feed blood to the outer skin layer where the purple and red spider veins are.
• The smaller purple or red veins may be treated with the Aura or Apogee laser. In some cases, the vein can actually be seen collapsing as the laser beam is used to treat it.

It may be recommended that leg vein patients wear support stockings for a few days after the laser treatments have been completed. This helps to compress and seal the treated vessels and reduce the development of dark spots under the skin. Depending upon the severity of each individual’s veins, multiple treatments are almost always necessary for optimum results.