Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Sclerotherapy Side Effects

There are certain possible side effects accompanying sclerotherapy treatment that can include:

  • Stinging or pain at the site of injection, swelling of the ankles or feet, or muscle cramping. These usually disappear within 10 to 15 minutes after injection.
  • Red, raised dots at the sites of each injection. These should disappear within a day or two, but if the procedure has been administered incorrectly and the saline has been injected into the skin and not the vein, the site can ulcerate.
  • Bruises at the site where the needle penetrated the skin. These fade and disappear within a few weeks.
  • Occasionally, a small blood clot develops in the injected vein, which can cause tenderness. If the vein is large and fills with coagulated blood, your dermatologist might choose to drain the blood from these areas a few weeks after injection.
  • Brown lines or spots on the skin at the site of treatment can develop as a result of blood escaping the treated veins. This is more likely to occur in larger veins; in most cases, these disappear within a year.
  • Blushes, or the development of groups of fine red blood vessels near the injection sites of larger vessels. About one-third of all patients develop blushes; most disappear on their own, but some last. Laser therapy is an effective way to treat these secondary veins.
  • Inflammation of treated blood vessels. If inflammation occurs, it's easily treated with aspirin, antibiotics or a heating pad.

As with most invasive elective procedures, pregnant women should not undergo sclerotherapy. And because saline injections contain large amounts of salt, those diagnosed with high blood pressure and congestive heart failure should also avoid sclerotherapy. Women with clotting disorders such as lupus or deep-vein thrombosis should avoid treatment, as should women with a history of miscarriages.


source from http://beauty.ivillage.com

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