Month: December 2008

Less Treatments are Needed With Foam Sclerotherapy

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Sclerotherapy is a fairly new method that is used to treat spider and varicose veins, and it may trump traditional sclerotherapy.

This new technique makes use of detergent sclerosants ( a special solution) but instead of being injected directly into the vein, it is mixed with a foam.

Various oils, fatty acids and detergents in the body all come together and affect the surface of the cell membrane. When this happens the surface of the skin will lose proteins; this is called apoptosis.

When foam is used, it is much more effective that the regular liquid solution. The reason behind this that the surface area of these structures will be affected more by the foam.

The use of foam sclerotherapy has altered how the procedure is done. Because it is so effective, foam sclerotherapy is replacing other methods used by doctors.

The reason for this is that it works so well and it is easier on the patients, compared to surgery.

Studies conducted showed that patients who had varying types of varicosities were treated over a period of 6 weeks. The majority of them who were treated for larger veins showed a normal flow of blood or was completely eliminated.

There were excellent results for people who had minor varicosities. It should be noted that these people all suffered from bouts of hyperpigmentation.

The results gained from the study to show foam sclerotherapy benefits are not conclusive and it is more than few years to truly know the results. When the treatment is done, nearly all the patients report that their veins disappear.

With foam sclerotherapy, it takes about one or two appointments to treat a vein, compared to the 5 or 6 that is often done with the regular method. The reason for this is that the foam sclerosant agent is in contact with the wall of the vein for a much longer period of time.

The downside to using this technique is that it is very difficult to expel the foam from a syringe.  This provides a challenge when treating very small and thin veins.

Sclerotherapy Can Have People looking Younger

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sclerotherapy3For people as they get older, there are three things that make their hands look aged. These will be age spots, veins and arthritis. There are a host of medical cosmetic treatments that can help reduce or eliminate these conditions. These will include chemical peels, microdermabrasion and intense pulsed light.

One procedure that is becoming very popular to reduce the aged look of hands is sclerotherapy. As the skin becomes thinner and there is a reduction in muscle tissues and fat deposits, veins in the hands and arms can appear enlarged. If those claims are injected with a sclerosant such as hypertonic saline, then it will irritate the lining of the vein. This will lead to scarring and eventually the vein will fade over time. This will result in the person having younger and smoother looking hands.

Doctors who do this type of vein therapy, insist that using sclerotherapy on the hand has several advantages over the more popular fat grafting cosmetic treatment, which focus on restoring soft tissues and fills the grooves between the bones in the backs of the hands.

Sclerotherapy done on the hand is the only cosmetic treatment that gives such good results in such a quick space of time.

Doctors have used sclerotherapy since the 1920s to treat varicose and spider veins. The first sclerosant, hypertonic saline, remains the choice of doctors today. There are other FDA-approved sclerosants that include sodium tetradecyl sulfate (Sotradecol), which many doctors use in addition to hypertonic saline.

The American College of Phlebotomy (ACP) classifies sodium tetradecyl sulfate as a detergent sclerosant, which destroys the vein How it works is that the detergent molecules come together to form a sheet that bothers the cell membrane surface and takes away certain proteins that will cause a cell death that is delayed.

There are potential complications associated with hand sclerotherapy. These are rare, but they include ulceration of the injection site, allergic reaction to the sclerosant (not applicable with hypertonic saline), tissue necrosis caused by injecting outside the vein, and propagation of thrombi.

Thrombi that form near the injection site, is very common in this procedure and will dissolve on their own.  Hyperpigmentation is a common side effect that usually comes based on leg sclerotherapy. It does not happen on the hands as the venous system in the arms and hands has a low pressure, while the legs have a high pressure.

Healing times for sclerotherapy may vary. Doctor’s state that around 5% of patients will experience bruising and 20% will experience short-term swelling.

Patients can expect to have on average around three visits to have sclerotherapy done. In addition to the first treatment, some patients may require more injections to the same vein. They may also need to remove some veins and treat thrombi. Some veins may require as many as two to four treatments before results are seen.

Sclerotherapy The #2 Cosmetic Procedure

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cosmetic-surgeryThe American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery – AACS conducted a study on sclerotherapy and varicose veins. It shows that it is the number 2 most performed cosmetic surgery procedure done and this is mainly due to men doing the treatment. Over the past five years, sclerotherapy has seen an increase of 3%  in males over the past five years. This is totally different compared to the 3.5% increase in females since 2002.

On the other side, there has been a reduction in male hair transplant. The reduction is likely due to the price of the procedure. Over the past five years, there has been a drastic increase in the price of hair transplants, while sclerotherapy has decreased.

Many cosmetic surgeons have seen an increasing amount of men wanted to have the procedure done. This could mainly be attributed to the fact that there are fewer stigmas associated with men having this treatment done.

The top three most performed cosmetic surgical procedures in 2007 were liposuction, sclerotherapy and blepharoplasty. The most popular non-surgical cosmetic procedure was Botox innjections, microdermabrasion and chemical peels.

This data is a result of a survey of AACS members based in the United States members and it was conducted in 2007.

Snoring and Sclerotherapy

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snoring-sclerotherapyThe procedure in using sclerotherapy to treat snoring has increased over the years. There is a higher relapse rate compared to other surgery therapies for snoring. The benefit of using sclerotherapy is that it does not cost thousands of dollars, it is not painful and does not require days of bed rest. The injection of sclerotherapy to stop snoring (snoreplasty) is a 15-minute procedure that is usually done under topical anesthesia. This will result in minimal pain and little to no bed rest.

Injection snoreplasty was developed where a sclerotherapy agent, sodium tetradecyl sulfate (Sotradecol), is injected into the submucosal layer of the soft palate to induce scarring and palatal stiffening.  Once this is done, the result is the reduction of elimination of snoring.

A research study was conducted that involved 27 subjects. Of the 27, 25 reported a significant reduction in their snoring and also now significant complications.

It was further reported that 4 of 22 patients that had success from the procedure,  reported a relapse of snoring after a follow-up period of 19 months.

Three of the four subjects underwent repeat injections and they have shown an excellent reduction in snoring.

It should be noted that the success associated with this snoring relief procedure may diminish over time. The reason for this is that the scarred palatal tissue undergoes softening and remodeling.

Injection snoreplasty has generated enormous interest and some controversy among otolaryngologists.

Patients are satisfied with the procedure as it is very simple, cheap and lacks side effects.